Trustees of the Austin Independent School District on August 11 approved the hiring of Stephanie Elizalde as Superintendent.
Elizalde will make a base salary of $325,000, plus a monthly “car allowance” of $750, for gross pay of $334,000 in her first year, according to her contract. That amount is more than twice the governor’s salary of $153,750.
On top of that Elizalde is entitled to a $15,000 yearly payment into a retirement account established for her benefit.
The contract begins September 1, 2021 and ends August 31, 2023.
Elizalde replaces outgoing superintendent Paul Cruz, whose base salary was last reported to be $310,958. Cruz announced in February that he would take a job at the University of Texas as professor of practice in the university’s superintendency program.
At a public meeting held virtually, trustees voted 8-0 to hire Elizalde, with Trustee LaTisha Anderson abstaining. The vote came as no surprise, because trustees on July 21 already had announced Elizalde as the lone finalist for the position out of 64 total applicants.
Elizalde, 55, comes to Austin ISD from Dallas ISD, where she served as Chief of Schools. She also worked as a teacher, assistant principal, principal, director, and assistant superintendent.
After the board voted to approve her contract, Elizalde commented, “I truly am just honored, humbled, super excited, nervous like the first day of school, like a little kid.”
“And I don’t take this lightly. I know there are big shoes to fill and there are huge expectations and I wouldn’t want to work for a board that didn’t expect excellence.”
Nicole Conley, AISD’s chief operations officer, recently announced that she will resign after being passed over for the job in favor of Elizalde. She told the Statesman, that it was “disheartening” that the trustees “did not even give me the respect of an interview.”
Conley had played a leading role representing AISD at the Texas Capitol during the 2019 legislative session, which results in a statewide school finance reform. Conley also helped the district plan for various consolidation scenarios last year.
The school board on August 11 also voted to delay the first day of school until September 8, offering virtual learning for the first four weeks.
In a letter to AISD staff and parents, trustees said that Elizalde “is the right leader at the right time for Austin ISD,” citing her “expertise in academics and her commitment to equity and excellence in education for all students.”
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