From left, Teri Mendoza and Adrian Bustillos attends the San Antonio Independent School District board meeting Monday, July 20 in San Antonio. Bustillos was named the new SAISD superintendent during the board meeting.
Alma E. Hernandez/For the San Antonio Express-News
San Antonio Independent School District trustees officially hired Bustillos as superintendent on Monday night, after naming him the lone finalist for the top job last month. He will oversee about 6,000 employees across roughly 80 campuses that serve 42,000 students.
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The timing gives Bustillos a chance to lead the district for a full school year before mandatory state consequences related to student test scores could kick in. The performance of several schools on 2027 state tests could put SAISD at risk of state intervention, including a districtwide takeover.
“We are in a state of crisis,” Board President Alicia Sebastian said during Monday’s meeting. “If we don’t get this right, then we’ll find ourselves in a very different situation, having a different conversation at the end of the year, and that is not what we want to see ourselves.”
Nine SAISD schools risk receiving a fourth consecutive unacceptable rating from the state in mid-August as district officials project roughly one-third of all campuses are likely to receive a D or F in 2026. Last school year, trustees, voted to close two of those struggling schools and hand operations of three others to a charter operator focused on rapidly boosting academics.
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The Texas Education Agency is anticipated to release A-F ratings for public schools in August. If a school scores failing grades for five years in a row, the state must either close the offending campus or take over the entire district.
Speaking to trustees after a 5-2 vote to hire him, Bustillos acknowledged the tall task ahead of him.
“We are at a critical time here in this district today,” he said.”I am committed to working alongside this team with the community to improve the student outcomes of this district to prevent a state takeover.”
Bustillos’ selection capped an expedited search that began after outgoing Superintendent Jaime Aquino announced his retirement in March. Some trustees said they wanted the next superintendent in place before the coming school year.
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The board moved Monday to waive a required superintendent certificate for Bustillos as he works to earn the accreditation. He has not been a superintendent before and will begin at SAISD after he earns his the certification.
An exact start date has not been set and details about his contract were not immediately available.
“Next year, you’ll be reading the headlines: how San Antonio ISD transformed the entire system,” Bustillos said. “The time is now… and that’s about to happen.”
Bustillos’ background
Bustillos previously served as chief transformation officer of Aldine ISD in the Houston area. The district serves a large Latino population and a high number of students living in poverty — much like SAISD. He spent about seven years in Aldine ISD, where he oversaw the district’s school choice initiative and managed in-district charter partnerships. At SAISD, he will lead the Texas district with the most in-district charters.
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He also helped Aldine close schools as it dealt with declining enrollment. SAISD has closed 17 schools over the past three years, including two West Side campuses last year. District leaders consider academic performance and enrollment when deciding whether to close a campus.
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SAISD leaders have said the district’s ideal footprint is closer to 50 campuses — down from the roughly 80 SAISD currently operates. Many of its schools are smaller, older and costly to maintain, and some don’t have the capacity to serve more students if neighboring campuses close.
Before Aldine, Bustillos spent 13 years at El Paso ISD. During his tenure, the district became the focus of a state cheating investigation, which triggered a TEA takeover. An appointed board of managers oversaw El Paso ISD from 2012 to 2015.
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The state agency reprimanded Bustillos and several others in 2017, according to the El Paso Times. In 2018, Bustillos joined El Paso ISD’s administrative team in the Office of Transformation. One of two SAISD trustees who voted against his selection last month raised concerns about the TEA sanction.
Some trustees remain concerned
That trustee, Jacob Ramos, doubled down on his issues with Bustillos on Monday night.
“How do we justify overlooking this when selecting the leader of our entire school district? Would we allow a student caught cheating to become valedictorian?” Ramos said. “The answer is no.”
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He and trustee Stephanie Torres voted against hiring Bustillos.
Voicing support for Bustillos’ hiring, longtime trustee and former mayor Ed Garza said the board interviewed more than 40 candidates before making their selection.
“Every candidate had a red flag. Every candidate had something that could become a headline,” Garza said. “It’s our job to be able to weigh those pros and cons of every candidate’s strengths and weaknesses.”
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While Bustillos’ predecessor Aquino had said he wanted to serve five years — with his retirement taking effect in January — trustees sidelined him on July 1, placing him in a consulting role until his official departure in 2027. Toni Thompson, the district’s longtime human resources director, has led the district on an interim basis since then.