AISD Superintendent Resigned, But He’s Still Collecting His $310,000+/Year Salary

Superintendent Paul Cruz. AISD Photo.

Superintendent Paul Cruz resigned his position effective August 31 at midnight, but he’s still collecting his full salary from the Austin Independent School District, Honest Austin has learned.

This means that AISD is currently paying two full-time superintendents, each at a rate of more than $300,000 per year.

Cruz’s contract with AISD ran through the end of 2021, but he left his position voluntarily to take up a professorship at the University of Texas at Austin.

The school board in August approved the hiring of Stephanie Elizalde to replace Cruz. She’s been calling the shots the whole school year, and her contract term began August 12, according to a copy of the contract obtained by public information request. 

Elizalde is earning $334,000 in her first year, roughly twice the governor’s salary, according to her contract.

Yet the trustees also agreed to keep paying Cruz through December 31, 2020, according to a separation agreement between Cruz and the district.

That document says, “Cruz and the Board have reached a mutually acceptable agreement for Cruz to resign his position as Superintendent of the District effective at 11:59 p.m. on August 31, 2020 and to resign from employment with the District effective at 11:59 p.m. on December 31, 2020.”

Stephanie Elizalde

“Cruz shall be paid his full salary and benefits according to the terms stated in his Contract through December 31, 2020.”

The agreement formally designates Cruz as the “Superintendent Emeritus” but doesn’t envision that he actually play a day-to-day role in the running of the school district. 

Instead, he’s meant to “take and use accumulated leave days while remaining employed in the District as Superintendent Emeritus. During such time, Cruz will be available on an as-needed basis to assist with the transition of a new Superintendent and to provide information and support related to on-going District functions and operations.”

Yet even after taking four straight months of “accumulated leave days,” Cruz is also going to be paid for 61 paid leave days at the end of the year. The agreement says, “On or before 5:00 p.m. on December 31, 2020, Cruz shall be paid the value of sixty-one (61) paid leave days in a lump sum based upon his daily rate of base salary.”

Cruz’s salary is $329,617.90, which means that AISD will pay out nearly $110,000 to him over the final four months of 2020, for the period after his retirement as superintendent.

Cruz did not respond to a request for an explanation of the arrangement.

A spokesperson for the school district confirmed the existence of the separation agreement, but didn’t respond directly to questions about why AISD is paying two full-time superintendents, and how much exactly Cruz is being paid for the months of September through December, following his resignation from the position of superintendent.

AISD Communications Specialist Cristina Nguyen, after reaching out to the district’s board services team, which oversees matters dealing with the superintendent, told Honest Austin by email, “Dr. Paul Cruz resigned his position of superintendent, but per the terms of his agreement approved by the Board of Trustees, he did not resign as an employee of the District until December. He is still an employee of the District as Superintendent Emeritus.”

In the meantime, Cruz’s new employer, UT Austin, brought him on initially as unpaid “courtesy adjunct faculty,” which means that while he continues to collect a salary from AISD, he is not also simultaneously collecting a salary from UT Austin. 

According to M. Yvonne Taylor, Director of External Relations at UT Austin’s College of Education, “Dr. Cruz is co-instructing a course for the Educational Leadership and Policy Department this semester,” without pay. “His official start date with (the department) will be February 1, 2021, at which point his appointment goes to 100%.”

Department Chair Victor B. Sáenz elaborated, “We use the word ‘courtesy’ as an internal designation for an adjunct faculty member who is not getting paid for their service, hence a 0% appointment. He begins his full-time appointment with us on February 1st, 2021.” 

He noted that Cruz’s official title will be Professor of Practice (without tenure), and he will also have administrative responsibilities as co-director of the Cooperative Superintendency Program.

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