Austin ISD Trustee Paul Saldaña Announces Resignation From Board

EAST AUSTIN, TX — Austin ISD trustee Paul Saldaña is scheduled to announce his resignation from the school board Friday morning, he told Patch.

He will depart halfway through his first term after being elected in December 2014 and after being elected vice president of the board by his fellow trustees last year. Saldaña cited family obligations as the reason for his imminent departure on April 24, which will mark his 100th meeting since ascending to the post.

"After much consideration, I have decided to step down from the AISD Board of Trustees in an effort to re-focus priorities and spend more quality time with my family," he told Patch. "I am proud of my two and a half years of public service on this board and efforts to take on difficult educational discussions and policy decisions centered on educational equity."

He conveyed gratitude to those who voted for him to represent AISD District 6, which encompasses 19 campuses in one of two districts covering South Austin.

"I am extremely grateful to the constituents and school communities of AISD District 6 for allowing me to serve as your representative," he said. "I firmly believe that supporting public education is a civic responsibility and I remain committed to supporting the District as a parent of students and as a spouse to an elementary school teacher.”

Born and raised in Austin, Texas, the trustee is married to Lisa Vásquez-Saldaña, a bilingual and special education teacher. They have four sons, Ryan and Joshua—both graduates of AISD's Crockett High School—and two future AISD graduates, Jacob and Jonathan.

Saldaña is a well-known figure in the area of local politics, having spent more than 20 years in local municipal government and public policy. He previously served as the chief of staff for former Mayor Gus Garcia, and is currently the president and principal of Saldaña Public Relations.

His resignation comes days after the board approved a $4.6 billion facilities master plan intended to modernize the district's campuses. He voted against the measure over concerns related to equity in the envisioned modernization and fears that some under-enrolled campuses could be closed as part of the revamping.

His departure will leave a void of Latino representation in the board makeup, although Superintendent Paul Cruz—the district's first Latino head—was hired during Saldaña's tenure.

Since his election, Saldaña has been vocal in calling attention to areas of perceived neglect, chiefly in his South Austin swath of representation. In a January commentary co-authored with fellow trustee Yasmin Wagner, whose district also lies in South Austin, Saldaña wrote a candid assessment of perceived neglect by the district in South Austin. In the commentary published by the Austin American-Statesman, Saldaña expressed some of the frustrations he encountered in his brief tenure on the board in convincing to the need for more schools in his fast-growing district.

"In 2008, Austin voters passed a $32 million bond proposition to buy land for a new high school in South Austin," the trustees' commentary began. "Nearly 10 years later, that promise has not been met. In our time working together on the Austin ISD board representing the two corners of South Austin, we have been focused on completing that promise for the purchase of land as expediently as possible. We have carefully reviewed the needs of South Austin and weighed all available options."

The district, the trustees wrote, is proceeding with purchase of land parcels in southeast Austin for a future high school and in southwest Austin to facilitate immediate expansion and modernization of the Bowie campus. With the bond satisfied with the southeast Austin land purchase, Saldaña urged that remaining bond funds be used to satisfy "...the will of the voters and be allocated to transforming Bowie into a campus that meets the needs of its students — now and in the future."

Rapid growth in South Austin has led to over-enrollment at various schools, particularly Bowie and Akins.

"Development in southeast Austin will continue to be sizable with projects like Goodnight Ranch bringing nearly 3,800 housing units to the Akins attendance area," he wrote. "This addition will necessitate the creation of a new high school in the future. It’s important to note that the last Austin ISD investment for a new high school east of Interstate 35 occurred over 43 years ago with the construction of LBJ. That was preceded by Reagan High School 52 years ago and Eastside Memorial 57 years ago."

To fill his soon-to-be vacated position, trustees can either call for an election to fill Saldaña’s post, or appoint someone to fill the seat.

>>> Photo via Austin ISD