Concerns over selection process of YISD lone finalist for superintendent position

Dr. Xavier De La Torre could be coming back to El Paso.

Wednesday night the Ysleta School Board named Dr. De La Torre the lone finalist for the YISD superintendent position.

He was the former superintendent for the Socorro School District from 2009 to 2012.

Dr. De La Torre is currently the County Superintendent in Santa Clara, California.

Ysleta’s former superintendent. Dr. Michael Zolkoski retired back in September.

At Wednesday’s meeting, concerns were addressed over the process of selecting the finalist.

“They really kept us in the dark. The process is what we are upset about. They have the right to pick whoever they want but they should’ve included the community, they should’ve included parents, they should’ve included educators,” said Arlinda Valencia, a representative of the Ysleta Teachers Association.

She claimed it was all very secretive.

YISD officials said the district held town hall meetings last December to gather input on what the community wanted in YISD’s next leader.

The district hired the firm BWP & Associates to conduct a nationwide search.

Interviews were conducted in early February.

De La Torre is not officially hired just yet, there is a mandatory 21-day waiting period in Texas before the lone finalist can be hired.

The Board of Trustees is expected to hire De La Torre during its regular meeting on March 5.

ABC-7 uncovered an October 2013 article from a California publication, San Jose Insider, that questioned if De La Torre was in danger of losing his job as superintendent of Santa Clara County.

It stated two board members were pushing for his removal and his contract was up for discussion in November of 2013. The article said his contract expired in February of 2014.

The article mentioned complaints against De La Torre of cronyism, hiring people close to him for high-level positions in the district. He was also accused of bullying.

Another article in the San Jose Mercury News posted Wednesday night said “employees told Santa Clara County Board members De La Torre created an atmosphere of fear that caused then to seek work elsewhere.”