In a pair of unanimous decisions Tuesday night, the BISD board of trustees appointed a new area assistant superintendent and named Mario Fajardo the principal at Burns Elementary.

Fajardo had been interim principal at Burns since August 2007, and before that had been an assistant principal at Egly Elementary since July 2001.

He was named to the interim post after former principal Sonia B. Saenz was placed on paid administrative leave over Parent Teacher Organization funds that were left unaccounted for. Saenz eventually was reassigned as a curriculum bilingual specialist.

Referring to Texas Education Agency ratings, Fajardo said he is "looking forward to an exemplary year next year." The campus currently is TEA recognized. It has an enrollment of about 1,200, one of the largest elementary enrollments in the district, and a staff of 130.

But Fajardo said staff, students and parents at the North Brownsville campus have a history of "working together cooperatively for the academic success of our students," and he hopes to see student achievement improve.

The board also appointed Carlos Guerra as an area assistant superintendent. Guerra currently is superintendent of the San Perlita School District, a position he has held since September 2006. He was superintendent of the Santa Rosa School District from 2004-2006. Before that he was a principal, assistant principal and teacher in the La Feria school district.

He is a graduate of Texas A&I University and has a master's degree in education from the University of Texas-Pan American.

After an executive session, the board reversed its earlier decision to reject a $31.49 million bid for a new middle school and elementary near Ortiz Elementary. The board then voted unanimously to award the construction contract to Scoggins Construction Co. of McAllen.