Former PSJA’s Arredondo: Why his new school let him go
Tough time to be a local superintendent. The Edinburg CISD superintendent, Dr. Mario H. Salinas, was placed on paid administrative leave, effective last Thursday, after a student was found with a loaded gun and a magazine in his backpack May 6.
The district’s initial press release failed to mention the loaded magazine.
Over in Mercedes, the superintendent, Benjamin Clinton, has a bigger problem on his hands after being arrested and charged with DWI May 16th.
Last Tuesday, the supe was placed on administrative leave with pay.
Following his arrest in Cameron County, Clinton provided a statement to the district and the community he serves: “Recently, I was arrested for an alleged charge of driving while intoxicated. Because this is an open legal matter, I am unable to share additional details at this time. I recognize the turmoil and disappointment this incident may have caused. For that, I am truly sorry. This incident does not reflect who I am—either as a person or as a leader. I am committed to demonstrating through my actions the values, professionalism, and dedication that the Mercedes community expects and deserves.”
Ten bucks, though, says he didn’t provide a breathalyzer test.
In response, immediately after Clinton’s arrest, the Mercedes ISD school board issued a statement: “On Saturday, May 17, 2025, the District was made aware of the arrest of the Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Benjamin Clinton. The Board of Trustees will discuss the matter in closed session at its regular board meeting to be held on May 20, 2025. As this involves a personnel matter, we cannot share additional details at this time.”
This will leave the district in an unenviable predicament.
It will save money if it settles with Clinton, but upset the community at the same time: “Why are you paying him money to walk away instead of simply terminating him?”
Well, for starters, he’s innocent until proven guilty, and any court proceeding is going to take a loooong time to adjudicate or settle, courtesy of any plea deal or jury trial. All of which costs money.
Second, if the board moves to terminate Clinton, the process can take up to a year because his attorney will likely say that the superintendent has yet to be found guilty of DWI. So, first there’s an independent hearing, which can take between 60 and 90 days to complete. Then there is a TEA hearing, which can take up more days and months, and before you know it, Dr. Clinton will have been on paid leave ($195k per year) for approximately 12 months.
PSJA’s Former Supe
Case in point — superintendents who fall out of favor with the board, while walking away with $$$ — is PSJA ISD’s former superintendent, Dr. Jorge Arredondo.
He walked away from PSJA ISD with a payout amount worth $405,000.
Several years later, he landed a job with Grand Prairie ISD and was then placed on paid leave after only three months on the job.
After an independent investigation into his job performance, the GP board voted to terminate his employment, and for that, Arredondo walked away with $355,324.
Not bad work if you can get it.
Like the band Dire Straits might sing, “Money for nothing.”
Now comes news last week, courtesy of DFW news outlet wfaa.com, that the reason Arredondo ran into trouble at Grand Prairie, according to an internal investigation, which included interviews with more than 40 members of the school staff, was based on the conclusion that he “engaged in harassing verbal communications and discriminatory treatment towards non-Hispanic female employees, resulting in a disparate and negative impact to non-Hispanic female employees.”
That’s not all, according to the termination letter:
“Beyond the investigation, you have fostered poor working relationships with your senior leadership team and the board in a manner that is antithetical to the best interests of Grand Prairie ISD and render you ineffective to serve as the superintendent for Grand Prairie ISD.”
In response, Arredondo said it was all based on school politics:
“Politics drove the board’s decision to malign and remove me due to disagreements surrounding necessary changes I was making to improve the district for all stakeholders.” (Source: wfaa.com.)
For those of us who saw how he operated while at PSJA ISD — creating chaos in the aftermath of his predecessor — his troubles at GP ISD come as no surprise.