Harlandale Independent School District Superintendent Gerardo Soto was named the region’s superintendent of the year by the Texas Association of School Boards.
Region 20 includes all school districts in Bexar County, stretches out toward Kerr and Atascosa counties and reaches parts of the Southwest Texas border. Each year, the TASB picks one superintendent from each region to recognize “achievement and excellence in public school administration.”
“I’m honored to serve a community that believes so deeply in the power of education,” Soto said in a statement after his family, campus leadership and school board members surprised him with the announcement on Tuesday morning.
“This recognition is a reflection of the work we’ve accomplished together for the betterment of our students,” he said in a statement.
Harlandale ISD’s board of trustees unanimously chose Soto to be its superintendent in 2019 while the district was being investigated by the Texas Education Agency for board dysfunction and financial mismanagement.
Despite a TEA-ordered state takeover of Harlandale ISD and the appointment of a board of managers that followed, Soto stayed on at the helm.
“We felt strongly that Mr. Soto will provide the ability to showcase our educators in Harlandale ISD,” then-board president Ricardo Moreno said during a board meeting in 2019. “We are confident in his ability to point us in the right direction.”
Since then, Soto led the passage of a $125 million bond in 2022 for major projects including a new Career and Technical Education Center and multipurpose arena, earned the state’s highest financial rating and generated $3.8 million in state bonuses for roughly 200 of the district’s most “effective” teachers.
Harlandale ISD has also become a model in career and technical education, as more students enroll in workforce training and industry certification programs each year despite a declining enrollment. The district enrolls about 9,700 students a year.
Under Soto’s tenure, the district also launched the Makerspace Center, which partners with employers like Toyota, JCB, the DoSeum and San Antonio Water System to provide students with hands-on learning and STEM exploration across all grade levels.
Overall, Soto has more than 31 years of experience in public education, starting out his career as a paraprofessional and then becoming a teacher. Before becoming superintendent, Soto worked at Harlandale ISD as principal of Frank Tejeda Academy — the district’s alternative campus — and later as executive director of operations.
Soto will go on to be considered by the TASB for the State Superintendent of the Year title, and a winner will be announced at a school administrators convention this fall.
The state recipient is awarded $5,000 and school districts of the other four finalists each receive $1,000. To be considered for the title, school boards have to nominate their district superintendent.
“Mr. Soto leads with both purpose and heart,” said current board president Norma Cavazos. “His leadership brings out the best in all of us.”
