Edinburg CISD Board Appoints ECISD CFO Adele Felix as Interim Superintendent
Edinburg CISD, Edinburg Consolidated Independent School District, interim superintendent, Adele Felix, Gisela Saenz, Xavier Salinas, Letty Flores, David Torres, La Joya ISD, TEA, Edinburg AFT, special meeting
ARNOLDO MATA
Edinburg TX – The Edinburg CISD Board of Trustees voted Wednesday to name Chief of Finance and Operations Adele Felix as interim superintendent, reversing a decision made at the board’s June 23 meeting to appoint Dr. Gisela Saenz to the position.
The action came during a special meeting held July 1, 2026, in which the board chose not to discuss th4 matter in executive session as Board President Xavier Salinas said, “ I don’t feel that we need to go to closed session. I think that we need to look at an internal candidate from ECISD.” Trustee Letty Flores then nominated Felix and the motion was seconded by Trustee David Torres. The motion carried. Board President Xavier Salinas was authorized to finalize the acting superintendent agreement with Felix.
There was no discussion prior to or after the motion was made about Felix’s appointment. Legal counsel stated that Saenz had not accepted the offer. No other candidates were mentioned or discussed. While Trustee Dominga Vela joined via Zoom, the other six trustees were present.
According to her LinkedIn account, Felix has served as Chief of Finance and Operations at Edinburg CISD since October 2023. Prior to that, she spent nearly five years at McAllen ISD, first as Chief Financial Officer from January 2019 to August 2022, then as Assistant Superintendent for Business Operations from July 2022 to October 2023. She previously served as Internal Audit Manager at IDEA Public Schools from February 2018 to January 2019, and spent nearly 14 years as Audit Manager at Burton McCumber & Cortez, where she gained assurance services experience in governmental, non-profit, financial institutions, retail and distribution, agricultural, manufacturing, employee benefit plans, and internal audit services.
Public Comments
Three speakers addressed the board before the vote.
Marsha Gonzalez, speaking as union president on behalf of Edinburg AFT, challenged the procedural validity of the June 23 vote that approved Saenz, arguing it did not comply with Robert’s Rules of Order. She said the original motion and a subsequent motion both failed to name the individual being recommended or specify the position, and that the board proceeded to vote on the second motion without resolving the first.
“There is a definite issue with the recommended interim superintendent if the five board members who voted for her didn’t want to state her name in a motion,” Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez also raised concerns about Saenz’s background, noting she had served at La Joya ISD before the Texas Education Agency took over that district. She further alleged that a trustee who had a prior business relationship with Saenz during her La Joya tenure failed to recuse herself from the June 23 vote, which Gonzalez said constituted a violation of state law and district conflict of interest policy.
Gonzalez also questioned the district’s staffing practices, alleging that ECISD has eliminated positions directly impacting student learning while creating administrative positions for politically connected hires.
Fern McClarty echoed concerns about Saenz’s La Joya ISD tenure and questioned why the district did not utilize one of its existing assistant superintendents to fill the interim role. She also raised unrelated concerns about coach conduct, teen drunk driving, and the recent termination of bus drivers.
Alondra Lizette Flores Aguilar, an announced candidate for the ECISD Board, also addressed the board, saying “ Unfortunately, we are here today to fix something that should have never happened in the first place. Our community is disappointed. Our community is concerned. Most importantly, our community is hoping that this board makes the right decision this time.”
She thanked Board President Salinas and Trustee Torres for opposing the Saenz appointment at the prior meeting. “ I would like to acknowledge and thank Board President Xavier Salinas and Trustee David Torres, as they recognized early on that this community would have had serious feedback about the direction that was being proposed and deserve greater scrutiny and consideration before voting. Your votes matter.”