San Antonio ISD confirms Adrian Bustillos as superintendent
San Antonio ISD confirmed Adrian Bustillos on July 20. He is expected to start in August as the district faces enrollment and budget pressures.
The San Antonio ISD Board of Trustees confirmed Dr. Adrian Bustillos as the district’s next superintendent on July 20, 2026. The district announced the appointment July 21, and Bustillos is expected to begin his duties when the 2026-27 school year starts in August.
The leadership change comes as SAISD prepares for projected enrollment losses, a general-fund deficit and reductions affecting staffing and academic programs. Families and employees will be watching how the new superintendent manages those pressures while the district works through a leadership transition.
What the board approved
Trustees named Bustillos the lone finalist on June 24. The district said state law requires a 21-day waiting period before a superintendent finalist can be officially hired. After that period, trustees voted to confirm Bustillos during the board’s regular meeting on July 20.
Bustillos will become superintendent as Superintendent Jaime Aquino remains set to retire from SAISD in January 2027. Chief of Staff Toni Thompson served as interim superintendent beginning July 1 while the district completed the appointment process.
Who Bustillos is
Bustillos began his education career as a science teacher in El Paso ISD in 2006. He later held roles including science facilitator, assistant principal, high school facilitator and executive director of El Paso ISD’s Office of Transformation.
Since October 2019, he has served as chief transformation officer for Aldine ISD. In that role, he has overseen innovative school models and programs involving college and career readiness, career and technical education, advanced academics, online learning, visual and performing arts and newcomer schools.
According to the SAISD announcement, Bustillos holds a bachelor’s degree in biological science from the University of Texas at El Paso, a master’s degree in school leadership and a doctorate in curriculum and instruction from New Mexico State University.
Certification issue remains a follow-up point
The July 20 board agenda included discussion of submitting a request to the Texas Education Agency for a waiver related to the superintendent certification requirement. The agenda described the request as being permitted under the Texas Education Code and agency rules.
The waiver request should not be confused with completed state approval. The public agenda documents a proposed request, but it does not establish that the waiver has already been granted.
KSAT reported that Texas Education Agency records show Bustillos was sanctioned and served a yearlong probated suspension in 2017 while working in El Paso ISD. That information was part of the public discussion surrounding the superintendent search and appointment.
The financial pressures awaiting him
Texas Public Radio’s review of SAISD’s adopted 2026-27 budget lists projected enrollment of 41,112 students, a decline of 1,452 students. The district’s projected general-fund deficit is $23.25 million, or $20.94 million after using remaining money from its Strategic Initiative Fund. The fund is expected to be used up during the budget year.
The budget also includes $32.45 million in programming and staffing reductions, including 114 central-office and operations positions and 260 campus positions tied to lower enrollment. Those reductions were adopted before Bustillos begins and are not newly ordered by him.
Possible future tax-rate action and campus consolidation or closure discussions are separate matters still under consideration. They are not decisions made by the July 20 superintendent appointment.
What to watch next
SAISD families and employees can expect the next major questions to involve Bustillos’ August transition, the status of the certification-waiver process and how the district manages its budget pressures during the school year.
Any future tax election, campus review or consolidation plan would require separate district action. For now, the confirmed change is Bustillos’ appointment as SAISD prepares to operate with fewer projected students and less room in its budget.
Sources
- SAISD confirmation announcement
- SAISD July 20 board agenda
- KSAT 12 superintendent appointment report
- Texas Public Radio budget analysis
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