GISD names Dr. Dana Arreola lone superintendent finalist

Gonzales ISD trustees voted unanimously Monday, Feb. 17, during a special called meeting to name Texas native Dr. Dana Arreola the lone finalist for Gonzales ISD superintendent.

“After an extensive search, we are thrilled to announce that Dr. Dana Arreola has been named the lone finalist for Superintendent of Schools. Her dedication to student achievement and community collaboration aligns perfectly with our district’s commitment to ‘Growing Greatness.’ We look forward to working together to cultivate excellence,” stated Gonzales ISD Board President Ross Hendershot III.

Arreola, 55, is currently in her second year as the superintendent for Bessemer City Schools in Bessemer, Alabama. State law requires a 21-day waiting period following the naming of a lone finalist before the school district can officially hire Arreola to replace Dr. Elmer Avellenada, who resigned last December citing personal reasons. That would not happen at the earliest until the March 10 regular school board meeting.

District officials had held interviews with potential candidates brought to them by search firm Walsh Gallegos Kyle Robinson & Roalson, P.C. each day from Feb. 10-14 and again on Feb. 17 before making their decision to choose Arreola, who has been the superintendent of Bessemer City Schools since June 2023.

Tenure in Bessemer and state school takeover

In August 2024, Arreola, who reportedly is making $175,100 per year in her role as Bessemer superintendent, saw the state of Alabama take over her school district and assign a chief administrative officer, Dr. Daniel Boyd, to oversee the district’s personnel, financial matters, and operations decisions. This came after a 17-month special examination audit conducted by State of Alabama Department of Examiners of Public Accounts found four counts of noncompliance by the Bessemer Board of Education with state and local laws, including:

• Failure to approve a timely fiscal year 2024 budget, capital plan and salary schedule in accordance with Alabama Department of Education requirements.

• Failure to comply with Alabama state law regarding the employment of principals through approved, written contracts.

• Failure to comply with the Alabama Competitive Bid Law with free and open competitive bidding on janitorial services, fuel, trash disposal, pest control and furniture; and

• Failure to comply with Public Works Law and free and open competitive bidding when entering into contracts for construction, installation, repair, renovation or maintenance of public buildings, including projects involving door replacement, theatre improvements, playground equipment and installation and a school lighting project.

The audit report, which was filed July 26, 2024 — just 13 days before the Alabama State Board of Education voted unanimously to take over Bessemer City Schools on Aug. 8, 2024 — covered the period of time from Oct. 1, 2022, when Dr. Autumm Jeter was superintendent, through March 31, 2024, nine months into Arreola’s tenure.

ABC 33/40 News reported in August 2024 that Arreola was given a $5,100 salary increase, or 3 percent, above her starting salary of $170,000 by a 5-1 board vote after receiving a 2.9 out of 5 on her annual performance evaluation and a 3.6 out of 5 on her goals and objectives, which combined together gave her a satisfactory rating of at least 3 out of 5.

The report noted that English Language Arts scores improved during Arreola’s first year at the helm of the district, as the number of students in grades 3-8 and 11 testing as “proficient” rose from 18.83 percent to 24.45 percent. However, the percentage of proficiency in math dropped from 6.6 percent to 5.82 percent.

According to the ABC 33/40 News report, Arreola indicated some “discomfort” with an inability to get board members to address district needs.

“Facilities are in poor condition,” Arreola was quoted by the station as saying. “I have come to the board on several occasions making recommendations to not only address academics but address facilities and I was denied. I have tried to support but also hold people accountable. We are second to the bottom in the state. We have employees in this district who have gone without the resources and support they need because I have brought recommendations and could not get approval.”

Enrollment at Bessemer City Schools is around 3,240 students with 156 full-time teachers, 72 administrators and 102 staff members and a budget of around $48.2 million. The district has four elementary schools, a middle school that opened in 2013, an alternative school, a CTE center and a high school that opened in 2010.

Gonzales no stranger to state oversight

Gonzales ISD itself was the subject of a Legislative Budget Board review of school performance in March 2020, with a December 2020 report identifying 45 significant findings and recommendations in four major categories (Planning; Implementation; Student Services; and Accountability) based upon “the analysis of data and the onsite observation of the district’s educational, financial, and operational services and programs.”

The district experienced plummeting accountability ratings seven years ago, going from meeting necessary standards in 2016-17 to a district rating of F in 2017-18 with four of six campuses needing improvement. GISD implemented many of the recommendations found in the 132-page LBB report and has since seen school and district performance improve dramatically.

The last accountability rating system showed Gonzales ISD rated a B overall with a B for student achievement, B for school progress and C for closing the gaps. The district even received a distinction designation for postsecondary readiness.

In the 2023-24 Texas Academic Performance Report (TAPR), it shows Gonzales ISD STAAR testing exceeded the state average in third grade reading, fourth grade reading and fifth grade math.

According to the Texas Education Agency, “The issuance of 2023 and 2024 A-F Ratings remains pending and subject to change based on judicial rulings.”

Experience prior to Bessemer

Before going to Bessemer for her first-ever superintendent job in June 2023, Arreola was the executive director of leadership development for Aldine ISD, where she was involved in the creation of a $1 million partnership between Aldine ISD and the  University of Houston College of Education for an immersive principal training program.

Participants in the program get real-world experience during a yearlong internship while being employed full time as school leaders. They receive a scholarship that covers tuition and fees while they pursue a master’s degree in administration and supervision before they earn their state certification as principals. Similar programs exist with Houston ISD and Angleton ISD.

Under Arreola’s leadership, six schools which had been ranked as Improvement Required rose to a Met Standard accountability by TEA over the course of a two-year period after some had been ranked as low-performing for as long as 10 consecutive years.

Arreola also collaborated with non-profit organizations as well as community members and business partners to meet five strategic priorities identified by Aldine ISD. She also led the implementation of the district’s leadership academies, which are single-gender educational settings (separate for boys and girls) where students learn civic engagement, including social justice and advocacy work. These academies especially seek to serve young Black and Hispanic students by instilling within them self-awareness, a sense of purpose and an expanded view of the world.

Arreola also served as a school support officer for Houston ISD in the Northeast area and she was a former principal at Clark Intermediate in Spring ISD, McGowen Elementary School in Houston ISD, an assistant principal at Hogg Middle School, a literacy coach and secondary curriculum specialist for the Davis and Washington high school feeder patterns and a classroom teacher at Hilliard Elementary.

She holds a B.S. in criminal justice and an M.Ed. in counseling from Prairie View A&M, as well as a doctorate in professional leadership from the University of Houston.

Prior superintendent compensation

Avellaneda resigned nine months after signing a new five-year contract with the district in February that had him receiving a salary of $185,000 per year plus benefits.

He was also eligible for one-time lump sum supplemental payments every August of $5,000 for each district campus that received an “A” rating in the Texas Education Agency Accountability Rating System and $2,500 for each district campus that received a “B” rating, meaning he could earn up to an additional $25,000 in compensation. However, this was also contingent on no campus receiving a rating of “F.”

It is unknown at this time what salary or incentives Arreola will be offered to become Gonzales ISD’s new superintendent.

Chief financial officer Amanda Reed Smith has been serving as acting superintendent since December and was given a stipend agreement. Though well-liked by the district, Smith was not a candidate for superintendent as the district had indicated a preference to have a candidate with a doctorate and required candidates to have a Texas superintendent certificate, campus principal experience and central office experience.