McALLEN — School board trustees here narrowly approved Jose Silva Jr. as the district’s new chief of police based on the administration’s recommendation at a meeting Monday evening.
The board approved Silva with a 4-3 vote Monday. Silva will be replacing Crisoforo Esquivel Jr., who retired in December.
Superintendent J.A. Gonzalez spoke highly of both individuals when addressing the regime change via email Tuesday.
“We appreciate former Chief Cris Esquivel and thank him for his many years of service to the McAllen ISD family and wish him much happiness in retirement,” he wrote. “Captain Silva brings tremendous experience to the job and will be a strong asset who can continue the vital job of keeping our students and staff safe.”
With 62 certified peace officers and a dozen personnel who do dispatch, security camera monitoring and secretarial work, the department Silva is taking the helm of is as comprehensive as departments in several Rio Grande Valley municipalities.
Silva has served with the department for 17 years, most recently as a captain. He’s a McAllen native, a Nikki Rowe High School graduate and a Navy veteran, and he says an appointment like the one he received Monday is a lifelong dream.
“It’s an honor, it truly is. Being a graduate, growing up in McAllen, this has always been a dream of mine to be where I’m at right now,” he said. “I’m extremely honored by the fact that this responsibility has been bestowed upon me, and I think it’s a true blessing. What I really want the community to know is that at the end of the day I take my job pretty seriously in ensuring every student, staff member and visitor goes home safe, and that’s what we’re going to do here day in and day out. Expect to see me out there.”
During his tenure, Silva wants to emphasize community engagement, possibly through programs that involve more students and parents in what the department does. He says community engagement is something the district’s lacked in the past and he hopes by implementing that engagement he’ll create more transparency and cooperation.
“We’re here to help with whatever it is that somebody may need,” Silva said. “At the end of the day, we’re not here to just make everything punitive. We want to make things better for kids. We want them to know that we’re not going and arresting every single kid because sometimes people need a second chance, and I’m a firm believer in that.”
Silva’s appointment was not unanimous. Trustees Debbie Crane Aliseda, Larry Esparza and Danny Vela all voted against naming him chief Monday.
Details on the board’s deliberations on the position are virtually nil. The discussion on the post took place in executive session — an executive session that lasted four times longer than Board President Conrado Alvarado expected it to.
Vela did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday and Crane Aliseda said she was unable to comment because her decision was based on information received in executive session.
Esparza did comment Tuesday, saying that just prior to the meeting a community member tipped him off about concerning social media posts made by one of the candidates for the position. Based on that information and the importance of the post, Esparza said he felt the decision required further “due diligence.”
“It’s an important position, as all positions are that affect our children,” he said. “Any position, anytime we hire somebody, they’re all important positions because they’ll be dealing directly with our students. And so we just want to make sure that everything checks out.”
Esparza declined to specify which candidate allegedly made the posts and said he understands that content has since been removed.
“It was nothing against Mr. Silva,” he said about his nay vote. “It was just some information that was provided to me that I felt needed to be looked into in more detail.”
A majority of the board was ready to move forward with the decision Monday. Trustee Marco Suarez said he based his decision on the recommendation of the administration and Superintendent Gonzalez, and that he has no concerns over the approval.
“I have the utmost confidence in our administration and in our interview committee,” he said.
Esquivel, the outgoing chief, officially signed off for the last time on Dec. 18 after 35 years in law enforcement, 24 of which were with the McAllen ISD Police Department. He helped establish the department in 1996.
The district recognized Esquivel with a drive-by parade that month and the board complimented him on his service to the district, even allowing him to purchase his service firearm as a token of their appreciation.
“I just want to thank chief for so many years of his time and hardwork and dedication to the district,” Suarez said in December. “I think that our district separates itself from a lot of districts and a lot of people copy what McAllen ISD does in terms of their men in the front line.”
