The San Antonio Independent School District Board of Trustees has voted 5-0 to name interim superintendent Sylvester Perez as the lone finalist for the full-time position.
Perez was not initially in the running for the permanent position, but eventually changed his mind. He is the former superintendent of Midland ISD and has been serving in the interim since Robert Duron left in Feb. 2012.
He said his focus will be to ensure students are at the proper reading level:
"When we have over half of our seventh graders that are not reading at grade level, that speaks loud," Perez said. "It tells us something about the earlier grades and also tells us something about the secondary grades as well – what we need to do to move the needle so to speak."
Before Perez is installed as superintendent the state mandates a 21-day waiting period.
Last month the district fired the search firm it was using after the only candidate it suggested, Manuel Isquierdo of Tuscon Arizona, stepped down from consideration following scrutiny over his personal and public life.
