The Edinburg CISD Board of Trustees approved last Tuesday the appointment of new directors for the district’s payroll and personnel departments after controversy around those departments’ former directors.
The board named Edinburg North High School Principal Mark Micallef as its new personnel director and Administrative Accountant for Finance Sara F. Gonzalez as its new payroll director.
The former heads of those offices — Payroll Director Zelda Martinez and Personnel Director Margarita Oyervides — were placed on administrative leave in December.
The board voted to propose their termination in January, though they remained last week on administrative leave.
A district spokesperson says the pair will remain on administrative leave until processes afforded under Texas Education Agency guidelines — including a hearing — are complete.
Tony Conners, Martinez and Oyervides’ attorney, told The Monitor after trustees moved for termination that the women are victims of a “witch hunt” being illegitimately justified by them receiving additional money for additional work responding to an overpayment fiasco caused by the district switching systems in 2021.
The district has refrained from sharing specifics on the alleged misconduct, but has said that the matter was referred to law enforcement.
Conners declined to comment on the board appointing new directors, but did say his clients have a hearing coming up in April.
“We are looking forward to the hearing,” he wrote.
