Adrian Bustillos most recently served as chief transformation officer at Aldine ISD. Credit: Courtesy of SAISD

Facing a budget deficit and the looming possibility of a state takeover, San Antonio ISD’s trustees on Monday voted 5-2 to approve Adrian Bustillos as the district’s new superintendent.

“We believe Adrian Bustillos is the leader for this moment,” Board President Alicia Sebastian said in a written statement.

But his hiring isn’t without controversy.

Trustees Stephanie Torres and Jacob Ramos voted against Bustillos’ appointment, citing concerns about a cheating scandal he was involved in during his tenure as assistant superintendent at El Paso ISD in 2017. During that time, the educator was accused of manipulating student test-participation and -accountability data to bolster the district’s academic ratings.

Ultimately, the cheating allegations prompted the Texas Education Agency to take over that district.

“How do we justify overlooking this when selecting the leader of our new venture school district? Would we allow a student caught cheating to become valedictorian?” Ramos asked rhetorically during Monday’s meeting. “The answer is no.”

Even so, trustee and former San Antonio Mayor Ed Garza pushed back, noting that nobody is perfect.

“Every candidate had a red flag,” Garza said. “Every candidate had something that could become a headline. It’s our job to be able to weigh those pros and cons of every candidate’s strengths and weaknesses.”

After the Board’s vote, Bustillos, who most recently served as chief transformation officer at Aldine ISD, accepted the job and promised a big turnaround for the district.

“Next year, you’ll be reading the headlines: how San Antonio ISD transformed the entire system,” Bustillos pledged.

Bustillos may need that kind of self-assurance given the challenges SAISD faces.

Bustillo’s predecessor, Jaime Aquino, abruptly announced in March that he would end his tenure in January 2027. However, as SAISD stares down a looming $46 million budget deficit, Aquino and the board agreed that he would depart this month.

One of the first things on Bustillos’ agenda will be to raises academic improvement across campuses to avoid a state takeover.

As of press time, nine SAISD campuses are at risk of receiving a fourth consecutive “unacceptable rating” from the state, the Express-News reports. A fifth consecutive rating after the upcoming academic year would give the TEA a strong argument to take control of district operations.

The TEA currently controls eight public school districts statewide for similar reasons.

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Michael Karlis is a multimedia journalist at the San Antonio Current, whose coverage in print and on social media focuses on local and state politics. He is a graduate of American University in Washington,...