United ISD announces the promotion of Mike Garza to Associate Superintendent for Administration Operation Services. The leader has served the district in different administrative roles for 25 years, including his current position he has held for the past one and one half years. In his new capacity, Garza has the added responsibility of everything that encompasses district security, including the safety of the entire student body and district staff.
Prior to his promotion, Garza served UISD as the Associate Superintendent for Student Support Services, which encompasses the transportation, child nutrition, fixed assets, purchasing and technology departments. He will continue to oversee these important district functions, and his ascension will expand his oversight to another key role overseeing all UISD safety measures.
In light of the recent Uvalde shooting tragedy and other similar events around the country, school safety is a tremendous responsibility that Garza understands and takes very seriously.
“I am excited and optimistic as we move forward to ensure that we are doing everything we can do to protect our students, staff and visitors. I’m taking on this challenge to help provide the best possible leadership and support for our campuses and departments and securing our facilities to foster a safe and nurturing environment. It is extremely important to me that we are providing the highest level of accountability and service to our school community. I am committed to supporting our staff, parents, and students.”
Garza says he is laser focused on how we can improve our current standards.
“All school districts have a very challenging future, but the success of our district depends on us ensuring that our safety operations function efficiently and effectively, so our kids can learn and our teachers can teach, which is what our parents and stakeholders expect and require.”
Garza started working in the district in 1997 and moved up in position and rank consistently from working as Director of Purchasing to his new assignment. Before that, he also worked at Laredo Community College, and in the private sector telecommunication area.
Garza’s educational background includes a Bachelor of Science Degree in Industrial Distribution (1993) from the University of Houston, a Master of Business Administration (2002) and Master of Public Administration (2015) both from Texas A&M International University, and a Superintendent Certification (2018) from the University of Texas at Tyler.
Garza is married to Araceli Garza, the Principal of Gonzalez Middle School, and they have two children who graduated from United South High School, Christoper, who graduated as valedictorian in 2020 and Maya, who graduated top 10 in 2022.
Garza enjoys his family and faith life but leaves time to be an avid sports fan. He is a lector and ACTS (Adoration Community Theology Service) core member for Blessed Sacrament Church.
Joseph Mike Garza can be reached by email at mgarza@uisd.net.
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