Mansfield ISD school board extends superintendent’s contract
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Cantu took a pay cut.
The Mansfield school board voted 6-0 Tuesday night in support of Superintendent Kimberley Cantu, approving her contract after conducting her annual evaluation. Cantu’s amended contract is set to expire June 30, 2030. Originally it ran until June 30, 2029.
Cantu’s salary remained $315,615, the same as it was under the last contract.
In the days leading up to the May 20 special board meeting, Mansfield residents expressed concern about the timing of Cantu’s evaluation and contract approval. Three board members — President Keziah Farrar and trustees Craig Tipping and Bianca Anderson — lost their seats to challengers Ana-Alicia Horn, Jason Thomas and Jesse Cannon in the May 3 elections. The new board members are scheduled to be sworn in at the next regular meeting on May 27.
Horn called Tuesday’s meeting “highly irregular” in a text exchange with the Star-Telegram. She questioned why outgoing board members were making decisions on the superintendent’s future and why it couldn’t wait until after the new trustees took office.
However, board members on Tuesday said there was nothing unusual about people who had worked with Cantu over the past year evaluating her performance as opposed to newcomers. It was also pointed out that while superintendent evaluations and contract approvals have happened in June in previous years, it’s also not uncommon for it to happen in May.
Farrar said the current board had ample data to evaluate Cantu, and therefore there was no reason to delay the action. Farrar also took a moment to honor Cantu for her work, crediting her for “cultivating a culture of excellence” in the Mansfield school district.
While the board members were united in taking action on Cantu’s contract, trustee Benita Reed indirectly referenced the community’s concerns about the meeting’s timing in promising to prioritize transparency going forward.
Cantu was hired as superintendent in 2019. She previously served as a teacher and administrator in the district.
This story was originally published May 20, 2025 at 10:17 PM.