SAISD leader focuses on transition, legacy as exit timeline remains in flux

May 9-When Jaime Aquino took the top job at the San Antonio Independent School District in 2022, he said he would stay five years. In March, he announced his retirement and kept true to his promise, setting his planned departure for January 2027.

"I always said that my expectation was I was going to be here (until) January. That was my hope," Aquino said in an interview last week. "I announced early enough to give the board plenty of time to find and identify the right candidate to lead the district."

But the district's board is moving quickly to find his successor and plans to announce its next leader as early as July 1, putting Aquino's place in the district in question.

Board President Alicia Sebastian recently told community members Aquino would stay on in a consulting role after his successor was named. Trustees plan to discuss Aquino's contract - which runs through 2028 - at a board meeting Monday, and they could shorten his time in San Antonio ISD earlier than expected.

SAISD's high-stakes superintendent handover comes as the district has projected that the state will rate nearly one-third of campuses as D- or F-schools in 2026 and amid a $46 million budget deficit. The new superintendent will have to act quickly to right district finances and boost the scores of struggling campuses - or face harsh state consequences.

"I totally understand, though, why the board is trying to get somebody by July 1, because they want somebody to begin the school year - even though all the planning for the school year has been done," Aquino said.

New role or departure?

At a town hall last month, district stakeholders shared what they want in the next superintendent. At that meeting, trustee Mike Villarreal said the board was looking for a replacement before the coming school year.

"We really can't afford to have a temporary superintendent," Villarreal said. "We really need somebody to hit the ground and be 100% engaged for the whole school year."

In an interview, Aquino said he honors and respects the board's desire to have a new leader named in July.

"But I'm committed to January of 2027, and I'll be at the service of the board as much as they want me to support the person or not," Aquino said.

On Friday, Sebastian said that it's not yet clear how long Aquino will stay on to support his successor.

"We just don't know what situation we will face with the new main superintendent," she said. "It's an opportunity for us to talk about those things and prepare for the transition, but still, we can't commit to hard dates right now."

Sebastian said Aquino's departure timeline will depend on how much support his successor will need. She hopes the district's next superintendent has "talents to take us to the next level" who can "implement systematic, high-level changes."

Alejandra Lopez, president of the San Antonio Alliance of Teachers and Support Personnel, said the "incredibly truncated timeline" and unclear transition plans have been frustrating. Lopez's organization represents district employees.

"I think what we want to see is a coherent plan for how this is going to work," Lopez said. "The fact that the trustees cannot articulate clearly how this transition is going to work is a concern to us."

She added that it would be a "very costly decision" if Aquino and his successor both remained on the payroll from July to January.

Aquino makes around $340,000 annually, and the base salary for SAISD's top job is $315,000. The average SAISD teacher salary was $63,150 in 2024-25. The district is currently facing a $46 million deficit and officials plan to cut more than 200 positions.

"Leadership is critical at every level in our district," Lopez said. "What we don't want is to start this new school year with people confused as to who's actually the decision maker here."

Searching for stability

As the search moves forward, the San Antonio Alliance and some campus leaders have pushed for an internal hire. Lopez said her group would value stability in the district.

Aquino has said he believes someone in his administration could provide that stability.

"My hope is that they choose the best candidate for our kids. I care about the kids, whether that's internal or external," Aquino said. "At the same time, because I knew I was going to be here five years, I felt that I needed to have a succession plan, and I wanted to make sure that there were people internal that could be considered."

Whether the board hires from within could also shape how much support Aquino believes he should provide. He said he wants to spare his successor the difficulties of coming in as an outsider. An outside hire would face an "incredible" learning curve, he added.

Aquino anticipates his successor will face several challenges, including improving student academic performance and dealing with budget constraints tied to largely stagnant state funding, which is based on enrollment and daily attendance.

The next leader will also have to manage aging campuses that are costly to maintain. Aquino said the district will need to close more schools as it grapples with budget problems driven by falling enrollment, lower birth rates and fewer families living in the urban core neighborhoods SAISD serves.

"Doing it in a thoughtful way that gets the buy-in of the community is going to be crucial," he said.

'A personal gift'

Aquino has been thinking about his legacy. He said he is proud of maintaining a working relationship with the San Antonio Alliance and overseeing the closure of 15 schools. But Aquino said he is proudest of the connection he formed with the community and students.

"I don't know what people would say about my leadership, whether my leadership made a difference or not," Aquino said. "But one of the things that I'm really, really proud of is: I'm leaving this district by lifting student voices and making sure that we always do what's right for students."

Though he moved for the job, Aquino said he plans to stay in the city and loves San Antonio. He's also grateful for the opportunity to lead the city's oldest school system.

"As an immigrant who came to this country as an adult, as an English language learner - who's still trying to improve my English - as a gay man, I never thought, growing up as a young boy in the Dominican Republic, that I would have the incredible opportunity to lead this district," Aquino said.

Not having children of his own has been the only "unfulfilled dream" in his life, Aquino said, thanking the board members who first hired him because they gave him "the gift of experiencing fatherhood."

"I feel the pride in my students, which I'm assuming is what a father would feel," Aquino said. "To end my career at SAISD - whether I was effective or not - has been a personal gift to someone from a third-world country who would never imagine that I would have been in this role and tried to help lift all our students."

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