San Antonio ISD’s new superintendent was accused of test cheating scandal at previous job

In a 5-2 vote, San Antonio ISD’s board of trustees on Wednesday selected Adrian Bustillos as the sole finalist to replace retiring superintendent Jaimie Aquino.

That decision isn’t without controversy, however.

In the early 2010s, El Paso ISD, where Bustillos was serving as assistant superintendent, was accused of manipulating student test participation and accountability data to improve the district’s academic ratings, according to multiple media reports.

The scandal became one of the biggest public education controversies in Texas and eventually led to a Texas Education Agency (TEA) takeover of the district.

In 2017, the TEA concluded that Bustillos had violated educator ethics related to the accountability scheme, resulting in a one-year suspension of his educator certificate and a formal reprimand.

Citing the suspension and reprimand, SAISD trustees Jacob Ramos and Stephanie Torres both said during the board meeting that there were better options.

“We had better candidates to pick from — but with this vote, I mean, we’re going to have to get behind him,” Torres said.

Wednesday’s approval puts Bustillos, a chief transformation officer in a Houston-area district, in position to succeed Superintendent Aquino in January 2027. Aquino announced his retirement three months ago, prompting the board to find a replacement by July.

Aquino will remain on the district’s payroll until January 2027 as a consultant to the board.

Bustillos has two decades of experience in education, beginning at El Paso ISD as a science teacher. He rose through the district’s ranks, becoming an assistant principal in 2009 and serving in a pair of central office roles from 2018 to 2019.

Last week, trustees were slated to name a finalist for the replacement, but deferred the decision. Instead, they appointed Toni Thompson, a longtime former associate superintendent for the district’s human resources department, as interim leader until a full-time replacement is confirmed.

SAISD faces a $46 million budget deficit and pressure to close schools because of declining enrollment. Both problems are tied to Texas’s funding system, which divides money awarded to districts based on the number of students in school each day.

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