{"id":205,"date":"2026-05-23T17:07:25","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T17:07:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movingservicesamerica.com\/?p=205"},"modified":"2026-05-23T17:07:25","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T17:07:25","slug":"texas-lawmakers-want-a-charter-school-network-to-stop-paying-its-superintendent-nearly-900k-the-school-board-says-no","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movingservicesamerica.com\/?p=205","title":{"rendered":"Texas Lawmakers Want a Charter School Network to Stop Paying Its Superintendent Nearly $900K. The School Board Says No."},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Texas lawmakers and an advocacy group representing charter schools harshly criticized a tiny charter school network that has paid its superintendent up to $870,000 annually, making him one of the highest-paid public school leaders in the country.<\/p>

Read more Parents Sue Trump Administration for Allegedly Sabotaging Education Department\u2019s Civil Rights Division<\/a><\/p>\n

The criticism came after ProPublica and the Texas Tribune published a story last week about Valere Public Schools, revealing that the district had only reported paying its superintendent, Salvador Cavazos, less than $300,000 per year. In fact, bonuses and one-time payments roughly tripled his income for running a district that has fewer than 1,000 students across three campuses.<\/p>\n

Lawmakers brought up the story during a critical Texas House of Representatives committee hearing on March 6 to discuss how much funding the state should provide traditional public and charter schools in the coming years. Legislators repeatedly pressed Bryce Adams, the vice president of government affairs for the Texas Public Charter Schools Association, about Cavazos\u2019 compensation and asked why charter schools need additional state funding if they use it for high administrator pay.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou got a report in The Texas Tribune today about one of your guys making $800,000 a year,\u201d said State Rep. John Bryant, a Democrat from Dallas. \u201cNone of our superintendents at the public level who have 100,000, 150,000 kids make anything close to that.\u201d<\/p>\n

State Rep. Terri Leo Wilson, a Republican from outside Houston who previously served on the Texas State Board of Education, called Cavazos\u2019 bonuses \u201cridiculous, unheard-of, outrageous.\u201d<\/p>\n

In response, Adams said his organization is also opposed to the superintendent\u2019s high compensation. He handed out copies of a letter the charter association had sent to the three members of the Valere Public Schools board stating they should pay Cavazos less. The association said it rarely questions a district\u2019s actions but described the additional $500,000 to $600,000 the board awards Cavazos on top of his annual salary as \u201ccompletely out of alignment\u201d with the market. The letter urged the school board to tie Cavazos\u2019 bonuses to specific metrics.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThis behavior will cast a shadow over the public charter school system in Texas and could be detrimental to TPCSA\u2019s ability to advocate on behalf of its members and the students they serve,\u201d the association\u2019s board members wrote in the Jan. 22 letter.<\/p>\n

The association sent the letter to Valere after learning about the newsrooms\u2019 findings but before the article was published. ProPublica and the Tribune also shared that two other charter school systems pay their superintendents hundreds of thousands of dollars on top of their base salaries. The association did not answer questions about whether it also reached out to those schools.<\/p>\n

The strong public rebuke of Cavazos\u2019 compensation comes as leaders from traditional public and charter schools are lobbying legislators for more money after going years without increases to their base funding. That push has intensified given lawmakers\u2019 ongoing efforts to implement a voucher-like program this legislative session, which would allow parents to use taxpayer dollars to send their kids to private schools. Legislative budget experts found that doing so could take money away from public schools. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has championed the voucher program.<\/p>\n

Since charter schools are considered public, not private, lawmakers questioned whether taxpayers could be confident that additional spending on public education would go to students\u2019 needs rather than into the pockets of administrators like Cavazos.<\/p>\n

Valere Public Schools\u2019 board members provided no direct response to legislators\u2019 concerns about Cavazos\u2019 pay in an emailed reply to the news organizations\u2019 questions this week. They also wrote they had not answered the letter from the charter association and said the association has \u201cno regulatory or other authority over Valere.\u201d<\/p>

Read more A University, a Rural Town and Their Fight to Survive Trump\u2019s War on Higher Education<\/a><\/p>\n

Cavazos has declined multiple interview requests. Board members have defended his compensation, explaining that he is also the charter network\u2019s CEO and his contributions justify his pay. The members also said that a \u201csignificant\u201d part of Cavazos\u2019 compensation comes from private donations, but they would not provide evidence to support their claim.<\/p>\n

Bryant, the Dallas representative, told the newsrooms in an interview that Valere Public Schools\u2019 actions show why the state needs stronger oversight of its charter schools.<\/p>\n

He said legislators must tighten the Texas Education Agency\u2019s current reporting requirements. The agency mandates districts post all superintendent compensation and benefits on their website or in an annual report. Districts must also send information about the superintendent\u2019s annual salary and any supplemental payments for extra duties to the state directly, but the state education agency did not clarify if that includes bonuses. It told the newsrooms it does not check whether districts follow the first requirement unless a potential violation is flagged.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to put it in the law that they have to report it and that there\u2019s a penalty for failing to do so,\u201d said Bryant. \u201cOtherwise, it\u2019ll continue to be obscured.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Texas Education Agency did not respond to questions the newsrooms sent after the legislative hearing about the state\u2019s current oversight of charter schools and superintendent compensation. Nor did Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows or Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who set the legislative priorities for state lawmakers.<\/p>\n

Andrew Mahaleris, press secretary for Abbott, sent a written statement to the news organizations scolding school districts that spend the state\u2019s funding on \u201cadministrative bloat instead of the teachers they employ and the students they serve.\u201d Abbott will work with lawmakers to ensure public dollars go to \u201cstudents and teachers, not systems and overpaid administrators,\u201d Mahaleris wrote. He did not mention specific bills or solutions.<\/p>\n

Lawmakers have submitted at least five bills during this legislative session that would restrict superintendents\u2019 salaries, but most would not have applied to the vast majority of Cavazos\u2019 compensation because the proposals don\u2019t limit bonuses.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

State Rep. Carrie Isaac, a Republican representing counties between Austin and San Antonio, filed a proposal that would restrict superintendents\u2019 pay to no more than twice that of the highest-earning teacher in the school district. Isaac\u2019s current proposal does not account for superintendents\u2019 bonuses. After learning about the Valere School Board\u2019s method of awarding Cavazos hefty payments on top of his base salary, she said she was \u201cabsolutely\u201d open to revising her bill to include bonuses.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t see any justification for that,\u201d Isaac said in an interview. \u201cI would like to see superintendents that pursue their role out of a dedication for student success, not a means to secure these excessive salaries.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the outcry from lawmakers and experts inside and outside the charter school sector, the Valere board has so far stood behind its decisions. Asked by the newsrooms whether it had any current plans to make changes to the pay that Cavazos receives on top of his base salary, the board sent a one-word response:<\/p>

Read more A Texas School Board Cut State-Approved Textbook Chapters About Diversity. A Board Member Says Material Violated the Law<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Read More<\/h3>\n
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\"\"<\/figure>\n <\/div>\n
\nThis Charter School Superintendent Makes $870,000. He Leads a District With 1,000 Students.<\/strong>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The rebuke from lawmakers and charter school leaders came after an investigation from ProPublica and The Texas Tribune revealed that Salvador Cavazos, who oversees fewer than 1,000 students, is among the most well-paid superintendents in the country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":204,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[13],"class_list":["post-205","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","tag-education"],"yoast_head":"\nTexas Lawmakers Want a Charter School Network to Stop Paying Its Superintendent Nearly $900K. 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