San Antonio ISD names longtime employee as interim leader, extending superintendent search

Instead of naming a replacement for Superintendent Jaime Aquino at San Antonio Independent School District, the board chose a familiar face as interim superintendent.

After hours of closed-door deliberation on Monday, the board announced Toni Thompson, SAISD’s chief of staff, would serve as interim superintendent while the board keeps the search open.

The board has been interviewing candidates for weeks, following Aquino’s retirement announcement in March, and previously said they had hoped to have a new superintendent by July.

But now they’re extending the deadline, and Thompson will officially take over as interim on July 1.

Thompson is a longtime employee of SAISD. Before becoming chief of staff in 2022, she served as associate superintendent for human resources for 22 years.

She’s been working in human resources since 1985 and was inducted into the San Antonio Women’s Hall of Fame in 2023 for her work in managing SAISD’s COVID-19 response.

“We are truly excited to have Toni serve in this capacity. She has been a tremendous asset to this district for a number of years. What better way to honor one of our own,” said Board President Alicia Sebastian.

Monday’s meeting was also a send off for Aquino, who is retiring after more than 40 years of working in education.

All board members, some who have served on the board since before Aquino joined SAISD, and some which were elected just last year, publicly wished him well and thanked him for several years of service, noting his efforts to rightsize the district, make SAISD more inclusive and how he included the word “familia” in the district’s mission statement.

State Sen. Jose Menendez (D-San Antonio) also attended the meeting to send off Aquino. He wrote a resolution as a formal remembrance of Aquino’s time at SAISD’s helm.

“I have observed you in times of celebration, and I’ve observed you in some of the darkest moments,” Menendez told Aquino. “It has been a joy to see someone who actually leads with service in their heart and not just with the title.”

While Monday marked his last board meeting as superintendent, Aquino doesn’t plan to leave right away. He’ll stay on as superintendent emeritus, easing the transition between his tenure and his successor.

Thompson would temporarily step into SAISD’s top role as the district faces declining enrollment, aging infrastructure, a $45.9 million deficit, several failing schools and increased competition from the state’s new education savings accounts, which give families public dollars to cover private tuition and education services.

San Antonio’s third-largest district, SAISD serves around 42,000 students and operates more than 80 campuses.

The district is currently undergoing a “New Way Forward,” a modernization process that involves tearing down small, old buildings to build new state-of-the-art learning hubs using unspent bond dollars and possibly going out for another bond election. The board is also expected to call for a voter-approval tax rate election to generate extra revenue that could toward cutting the budget deficit.

Neighboring school districts are also undergoing leadership changes of their own.

Earlier this month, Northside ISD’s superintendent announced his plans to retire by January of next year, though no search or transition plan has been publicly discussed. North East ISD just hired a new superintendent after Sean Maika left for another role, and Judson ISD is currently operating under an interim superintendent after the board pushed out Milton Fields.

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