San Antonio Independent School District’s board named Adrian Bustillos, the current chief transformation officer at Aldine ISD in Houston, as the district’s new leader on Wednesday night.

Background and Experience

Bustillos has 20 years of experience in education, starting as a science teacher in El Paso ISD in 2006. He quickly moved up through campus leadership and later launched the district’s Office of Transformation as executive director.

As chief transformation officer for Aldine, Bustillos oversees innovative school models and the district’s school choice program. SAISD is regarded as a leader in school innovation, having dropped its boundaries nearly a decade before neighboring districts did, offering several in-district charters, magnets, and partnerships.

Challenges Ahead

Despite falling enrollment, SAISD has more out-of-district students than other area districts. However, the district also has many failing campuses that have received “unacceptable” ratings from the state’s A-F accountability system two to three years in a row. More failed ratings could open SAISD up to state intervention.

The district is also facing declining enrollment and a shrinking but still present budget deficit. The district made budget cuts for the fifth year in a row during the latest budget planning cycle. In 2023, the district closed 15 campuses due to the deficit and closed two schools this year because they were failing academically.

District officials have recently pivoted to a “new way forward” — modernizing SAISD’s many aging buildings by closing campuses, tearing old schools down, and building new state-of-the-art facilities. SAISD would likely have to call for a new bond election to fund such a project, and the board is expected to call for an election this November.

Original reporting: San Antonio Report — read the source article.