The Dallas school district has hired a replacement for the communications chief who resigned earlier this year.
Rebecca Rodriguez, the current city of Arlington spokeswoman, will take the position of chief communications officer March 1, the Dallas Independent School District announced Thursday.
Rodriguez is the first Hispanic woman selected to lead the district's communications department.
The district's previous spokeswoman, Jennifer Sprague, had come under fire shortly after her hiring.
Her $185,000 salary was about $100,000 more than she made in her previous job, and Superintendent Mike Miles hired her without interviewing any other candidates.
Sprague, who worked for Miles at his previous district in Colorado, came with him to Dallas when he was hired last year.
She also was criticized for being unprepared to answer questions from DISD trustees during a school board meeting in August.
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Sprague told NBC 5 in an exclusive interview in January that she stepped down to focus on family. She said she had "realized that, career-wise, Dallas ISD" was not the place for her.
Rodriguez previously worked in television news, including as an anchor and reporter for WFAA-TV and KTVT-TV in North Texas.
