Dr. Gisela Saenz to serve as interim superintendent of ECISD after securing a 5-2 vote, which came with a notable veto from board President Xavier Salinas.

Following the retirement of Mario Salinas who had led the board since 2021, board member Luis Alamia initiated the motion to name Saenz interim Superintendent.

Native to the RGV, Saenz grew up in Sullivan City where she began her career as an educator in 1987 at Rosendo Benavides Elementary School (La Joya ISD)–the same school she attended. By 2006, she was Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction and in May 2019, Saenz was named Superintendent of Schools for La Joya ISD.

Saenz led LJISD during the COVID-19 pandemic and implemented a staffing adjustment plan which saved taxpayers up $24.3mm in a time marked by decreased enrollment with expanded pre-kindergarten care to three year olds. This highlights her administration’s efforts to decrease administrative bloat while balancing educational attainment and standards.

Nevertheless, her time as Superintendent of Schools for La Joya ISD was tainted by a federal corruption scandal in 2022 when U.S. attorneys charged two school board trustees and three district administrators with federal financial crimes committed from 2017 through 2020. LJISD Trustees Armin Garza and Oscar Salinas as well district administrators Alex Guajardo, Luis Morin, and Rodrigo Lopez all pleaded guilty to federal charges of bribery, theft, money laundering, extortion, and wire fraud.

Not found of any wrongdoing, Saenz retired from the corruption-riddled district in April 2023. For context, in 2018 LJISD met national ire after it was discovered they spent taxpayer money to open a $20 million water park and sports complex.

Saenz earned her Bachelor of Business Administration, Master’s degree in Education, and Doctoral degree in Education from the University of Texas Pan-American (now known as UTRGV).

As interim Superintendent of Edinburg CISD, Saenz will now serve 33,300 students across 31 elementary schools, 6 middle schools and 4 high schools.

Out of 38 school districts in the South Texas region, ECISD is tied for 8th with La Feria ISD and San Benito ISD in overall rating with an 83/100 from the TEA. This overall rating essentially measures student preparation i.e., how well are students being prepared for next grade. South Texas ISD and Sharyland ISD rank 1 and 2 in the region respectively–both have scores in the low nineties. And while the district sits slightly above average in the region, it boasts 14 individual schools in the district with A ratings including Robert Vela High School which consistently ranks among the best in the Rio Grande Valley in Advanced Placement class participation and graduation rates.

Replicating these results across the rest of the district could be her most direct task.

While Saenz is only serving as interim Superintendent, this will be her largest responsibility to date.

A permanent Superintendent is in the works and all we know is that she has not been ruled out…