ECISD Board Renews Superintendent’s Contract, No Details Provided In Public Meeting
By Arnoldo Mata
Edinburg TX – The Edinburg CISD Board of Trustees last night voted unanimously to approve the contract renewal of Superintendent Mario Salinas’ contract. No details of the contract renewal were provided during the public section of the meeting.
During their regular meeting on Tuesday, March 11, the ECISD Board of Trustees emerged from the closed-door session at the end of the meeting to address and act on items discussed during the executive session. The final action was to approve the contract with Dr. Mario H. Salinas, as superintendent. Without any discussion or explanation of the salary or term of the contract, the board voted unanimously to approve the contract.
According to the Texas Education Agency, Salinas received a base salary of $$374,627 in 2024, excluding benefits and allowances, such as travel stipends. According to the TEA records, this makes Salinas the 13th highest paid public school superintendent in the state. He is also the highest paid public school superintendent in the four-county Rio Grande Valley region.
Salinas was first appointed to the position by the ECISD Board of Trustees on February 16, 2021. According to the ECISD website, the district is one of the nation’s largest landmass school districts and serves more than 34,000 students across forty-three campuses within a 945-square-mile area. Salinas is a longtime ECISD administrator, with more than 30 years’ service in the district in various roles. Most recently, he served as Assistant Superintendent for Student Support Services, overseeing district operations since 2005. His responsibilities included managing health services, police, child nutrition, transportation, maintenance and operations, facilities, social services, athletics, and fine arts.
Throughout his career Salinas has held positions as a high school science teacher, head varsity basketball coach, assistant principal, and principal of Edinburg North High School for nearly a decade. He earned his bachelor’s, master’s in educational administration, and doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Texas-Pan American.