Why do school district trustees get bloated salaries?
Under capitalism, "public" education is just another cash cow. Workers in RGV need political party of our own.
By Elizabeth Escobedo
Recently, the Rio Grande Valley learned that former Harlingen school superintendent J.A. Gonzalez—who was forced out under shady circumstances involving the district’s finances—will now earn $210,000 per year for the next three years at Hidalgo “Independent” School District, according to MyRGV.com.
This same Gonzalez was named Texas Superintendent of the Year in 2020. That award says less about his competence and more about how worthless such titles are. From 2016 to 2023, Gonzalez worked at McAllen ISD. But after only a single year at Harlingen CISD, he was reportedly paid $260,000 to resign.
This isn’t rare. Across the Valley and the country, school administrators walk away from controversy with bloated severance deals. Their golden parachutes don’t just protect them—they mock the underpaid teachers, custodians, cafeteria workers, and bus drivers who keep the schools running.
Let’s be clear: Gonzalez is not some isolated “bad actor.” He’s a textbook example of the upper-middle-class functionary under capitalism. These are not capitalists in the strict sense—they don’t own factories or control banks—but they are rewarded handsomely for enforcing capitalist priorities in their state institutions.
