South San ISD board suspends superintendent, launches investigation

South San Antonio Independent School District’s board unanimously voted to suspend Superintendent Marc Puig late Monday. The meeting was called to address a private conversation between Puig and board president Ernesto Arrellano on Nov. 17 that was accidently recorded when Arrellano forgot to turn off his microphone. Homer Flores, the board’s vice president, said the recording of Puig and Arrellano sounded like they were “making a deal” over the hiring of a consultant. A transcript of the conversation was published as part of the board’s online agenda and trustees said they wanted a more complete transcript as part of the investigation.

At the meeting, Puig described the board’s response to the taped conversation as a “quicksand of dysfunction” in remarks that made clear his frustration with his employers after less than two years on the job. “This didn’t start last week, it started more than 30 years ago,” Puig said, a reference to the board’s long history of infighting and brushes with state oversight. The Texas Education Agency two months ago appointed a monitor to oversee the board, a result of a two-year investigation, and announced it was investigating the board based on a new set of complaints. Puig noted the TEA placed a monitor at the district in 1990. After almost three hours in executive session, the board emerged and voted unanimously to place the superintendent on paid administrative leave and begin an investigation which would include another, more complete transcript of the Nov. 17 conversation.