District 6 trustee resigns from AISD board

Paul Saldaña, elected to the Austin Independent School District Board of Trustees in 2014 and to the position of vice president in 2016, announced his resignation Wednesday. The move comes after a fierce debate two days earlier over the Facility Master Plan update, a set of guidelines directing AISD’s structural management for the next 25 years. The board voted to adopt the plan 6-3 and Saldaña was one of the dissenters, although he was able to pass two amendments that both sought to protect AISD’s most underenrolled schools from being consolidated. At the previous meeting on March 27, Saldaña had questioned the equity of the update. “With such an important issue like this,” he said, “it’s really important that we are all on the same page as it relates to equity.” As to the exact motives behind his decision, Saldaña has told reporters so far only that he wants to spend more time with his family, but he will be holding a press conference this morning during which he is expected to divulge more details.