SAN ANTONIO – A local area school district with a recent history of troubles is trying to start a new chapter with the help of a familiar face in education.
Dr. Sylvester Perez retired from San Antonio Independent School District in May 2015. Now he's back at work in Edgewood ISD as one of the state-appointed leaders of the district.
The Texas Education Agency lowered Edgewood's accreditation rating back in March after it found numerous problems with school's elected Board of Trustees. It has since appointed Perez as interim superintendent and five members of a Board of Managers, which replaces the trustees.
"We know that we have a very, very fresh beginning," Perez said in an interview with KSAT.
When it comes to the difference of working with the managers instead of a traditional school board, he said "You're talking about someone who has been selected not elected, and their loyalties are to the children of Edgewood."
Dr. Perez calls the state's expectations for the district "laser focused" on student outcomes.
"The Texas Education Agency has not asked us to do certain things. They're telling us this is what needs to be done. These are the steps that you need to take, and this is how you're going to do it."
A simple formula, he says, to get the district's accreditation back up is follow those steps.
"They will be watching how we conduct ourselves in public and in private," he said.
The community will also be watching. Perez thinks the Board of Managers is already rebuilding morale by cruising through its first meeting Tuesday night - a far cry from the old Board of Trustees’ reported clashes.
Perez says he met with some of the faculty, thanking them for "hanging in there the last year."
"There's never a finish line with that. That's an everyday occurrence, and that is showing people how we appreciate them," he said.
As for other challenges, Perez spoke of filling critical positions and reducing overall staff positions in the face of declining enrollment.
"So we cannot have the same level of staff if you've lost five, six hundred students," he said, referencing the previous year's drop. "So through attrition and through retirements you simply don't fill those positions."
One position that will have to be filled is his. Perez is intent on only being an interim superintendent and believes he will only be around for about six months as the search for his successor should be starting sooner rather than later.
While he might be gone quickly, state control of the district will not. The Board of Managers will be around for at least three years.
A TEA spokeswoman said that if the commissioner believes the district is in good shape at the end of those three years, elected board members would be phased in as appointees are phased out.
The Edgewood ISD however isn't the only district with the TEA looking over its shoulder. A state-appointed conservator is overseeing the South San Independent School District, and the Southside Independent School District is also undergoing a special accreditation investigation.
