Northside ISD Board Names Longtime Educator Jessica Palomares Interim Superintendent

Trustees of the Northside Independent School District chose longtime employee Jessica Palomares as interim superintendent on Sunday, tapping an internal candidate to guide San Antonio's largest school district through a leadership change.

Palomares will step in as Superintendent John Craft moves into an emeritus role. Craft announced his departure in June, and the board accepted his voluntary retirement. Trustees then directed staff to seek an interim leader from within the district. After interviewing two candidates, whose names were not made public, the board voted 4-2 in favor of Palomares.

Palomares brings 30 years of experience in education and currently serves as NISD's assistant superintendent of elementary education. A graduate of Holmes High School, she joined the district in 1996 as a special education teacher. She later worked as a vice principal and as principal at several elementary schools before moving to the central office.

In a statement, Board President Sonia Jasso praised the district's internal talent. "Northside is truly blessed to have such an outstanding pool of talent within our district," Jasso said, adding that the board is grateful to have Palomares leading the district through the transition. She said Palomares' experience and dedication "will provide the steady leadership our students, staff and community deserve."

The board also plans to hire a search firm to recruit a permanent superintendent, with a goal of identifying a candidate by January or February.

Craft is the third area district leader in the past year to plan an exit from K-12 education. North East ISD's then-superintendent, Sean Maika, said in November he would leave by January. The board there named employee Anthony Jarrett interim superintendent and made the appointment permanent in June. In March, San Antonio ISD Superintendent Jaime Aquino said he would retire by 2027, and SAISD's board is now preparing to hire Adrian Bustillos, a longtime district executive named the sole finalist in June.

NISD serves roughly 99,000 students across more than 100 schools, making it the largest district in the San Antonio area. North East ISD is the second largest and SAISD the third.

Palomares inherits a district facing financial pressure. NISD is dealing with a $38 million budget deficit and is conducting an "optimization process" that reviews buildings, infrastructure, utilization and campus culture surveys to decide whether and how to consolidate to save money.

The district is also weighing whether to ask voters for a tax rate change in November. Options include a school bond election, which funds large infrastructure projects, and a voter approval tax rate election, which covers day-to-day costs such as pay raises and student programs. Trustees must still give final approval and formally call the elections, and they are expected to finalize those plans in August.

Palomares begins as interim superintendent on Aug. 1, and NISD's first day of school is Aug. 10.