ARLINGTON -- Marcelo Cavazos dropped the "interim" part of his title with the stroke of a pen Thursday night as he signed a contract to become the new Arlington school superintendent.
The one-item school board agenda quickly turned into a celebration at the Mac Bernd Professional Development Center as about 500 people congratulated Cavazos and snacked on quesadillas and petits fours."I have the same mission as our other 8,000 employees: To be of service to our students," said Cavazos, 44, who began his career with the district in 1999. Cavazos' three-year contract pays him a base salary of $250,000 annually, plus $1,000 per month for discretionary expenses, $800 per month for transportation and technology expenses, and the premiums on his life, health and disability insurance.The contract has room for more: After the first year, he could get a 5 percent raise; after two years, another 5 percent raise. He could also receive performance incentives of as much as 15 percent of his salary.His interim superintendent agreement, enacted June 7 of this year, paid him a $4,800 per month stipend over his deputy superintendent's annual salary of $140,112.Cavazos was named interim superintendent in June when former Superintendent Jerry McCullough departed. Cavazos had served as deputy superintendent since February 2009.He has been a lecturer in the University of Texas at Arlington's department of educational leadership and policy studies. He has bachelor's and master's degrees from the UT-Pan American and a doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin.Cavazos started his career as an English teacher in the Mission school district in 1990. In 1992, he moved to McAllen, where he taught English and government. He was named the secondary language arts supervisor for Mercedes school district in 1993 and became associate advisor for the San Benito district in 1995. Cavazos went to work for the Texas Education Agency department of school finance and support in 1998.Shirley Jinkins, 817-390-7657Twitter: @shirljinkinsHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
