Edinburg school board picks Saenz as interim superintendent

The Edinburg school board selected Gisela Saenz as the district’s interim superintendent in a split vote Tuesday, June 23.

 

Formerly La Joya ISD’s superintendent, Saenz retired from that district in 2023 after a 36-year career.

 

Saenz will — at least temporarily — replace Superintendent Mario Salinas, who announced his retirement in March.

 

Salinas’ last day was June 26.

 

The Edinburg board voted to hire Saenz in a split vote after discussing the position behind closed doors in executive session.

 

 

Trustees initially seemed reluctant to name a hire.

 

“It’s not me, I’m not gonna make that recommendation,” Board President Xavier Salinas said.

 

Ultimately, the board voted 5-2 to hire Saenz.

 

Xavier Salinas and Trustee David Torres both voted against doing so.

 

“While I respect my fellow school board trustees (sic) recommendation, Trustee David Torres and I favored the other recommended candidate as we felt that they were [a] stronger fit for the position and ECISD,” Xavier Salinas said via text.

 

Trustees in Edinburg are anticipated to hire a permanent superintendent sometime this summer. 

 

Saenz says she expects her tenure leading the district to be very limited and transitional.

 

She hopes to set up the district and whomever the board chooses to lead it permanently for success. 

 

“I expect that they will select a superintendent in August, so my job will be helping the district prepare for the new year so that when the new superintendent is hired they will be ready for the new year,” Saenz said.

 

Mario Salinas served as superintendent for almost six years, a stint that capped off a 42-year career with Edinburg CISD.

 

Before that, he worked full time for H-E-B for a decade.

 

Not working, Salinas said, is going to be an adjustment, but he thinks it’s time to make that adjustment and focus a little less on work.

 

“I’m looking forward to not waking up at 4:30 in the morning Monday through Friday. Sleep a little later and spend a little more time with my family at night,” he said. “It’s a tough job. No question about it. There’s always something out there that needs to be addressed, 24/7.”

 

Salinas didn’t completely rule out returning to education in some kind of professional capacity.

 

For now, however, he says he wants to stay active by volunteering in the community.

 

“I don’t want to stay home. I want to move around. I love Edinburg. I love the Edinburg community, and I want to volunteer my time to our community,” he said.

 

As superintendent, Salinas ran the largest school district in the Rio Grande Valley, with more than 30,000 students, 5,000 employees and a half billion dollar budget.

 

 

Salinas said he’s proud of a number of accomplishments during his tenure leading the district, among them higher pay for employees and the opening of a collegiate high school.

 

Particularly though, he says he’s proud of the lives touched by the district during his career.

 

“We’ve done a lot of good things. And I can tell you in my 42 years, the Edinburg school district has produced hundreds of thousands of successful people who have come through that school district,” Salinas said. “In Edinburg, we’ve done well.