Socorro ISD extends superintendent’s contract; gives him a $25K raise

The Socorro Independent School District board unanimously voted to extend the contract of Superintendent Dr. Jose Espinoza Tuesday night. He’s been on the job for two years come September.

The board agreed to raise his base salary from $244,800 to $270,000, offer an annuity benefit of $17,500, a Texas Retirement System contribution of $19,035, with five vacation days. His contract, which was extended last year to 2017, was extended again for another two years until 2019.

Espinoza came to the district with 16 years of teaching and administration experience. Before this job, he was the school improvement officer at Houston ISD. Since he’s been here, he tackled the issue of possible cheating in the district by commissioning an audit, even though the district wasn’t accused of any suspicious activity, the audit found nothing was amiss.

The Socorro Teacher’s Association told ABC-7 “he’s really good,” and the board said they are very happy with his performance.

Espinoza’s contract was extended last year until 2017. The board gave him a two percent raise or about $4,800, bringing his salary to $244,800, including about $2,000 a month for expenses.

At Tuesday’s meeting, the board also decided to recommend Maribel Macias for the job of Assistant Superintendent for Administrative Services and Alicia Zapata for the job of Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Education, replacing long time administrators Pat O’Neill and Rebecca O’Neill.