School board scrutinizes superintendent

LA JOYA — School board members voted unanimously against extending La Joya school district Superintendent Alda Benavides’ contract beyond its expiration date in two years.

School board President John Valente Alaniz said they left the matter open to go over again later but that board members wanted to first see better results in the coming year.

“The vibe that day amongst the school board members was that we want to keep the school (district) moving,” Alaniz said.

Benavides said her results speak for themselves.

“They noted that in certain areas the student achievement needed to improve, but you have to look at the whole picture,” she said.

She admitted math scores are still a problem for the district but said the Texas Education Agency listed 17 of its schools as recognized and one as exemplary in the 2007-08 school year. In 2008-09, 16 schools were recognized and three were exemplary. None of the schools were rated academically unacceptable during those school years.

Under the state rating system, schools are labeled as exemplary, recognized, academically acceptable or academically unacceptable. The ratings are based on dropout and graduation rates as well as Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills results.

“We were able to successfully transition into three full-fledge high schools in one year,” Benavides said.

She is slated to be evaluated again next year.

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Martha L. Hernández covers Mission, western Hidalgo County and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach her at (956) 683-4846.

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This is a corrected version of the story that was originally posted. The earlier version misstated La Joya school district Superintendent Alda Benavides’ summary of the district’s school accountability ratings.