PRESIDIO — Last week, Presidio ISD students, parents and staff received word that there would be several major shifts in leadership within the district. Superintendent Ray Vasquez announced his resignation, effective June 30; High School Principal Hevila Ramos also announced that she would be leaving her position and transitioning to an administrative post as curriculum coordinator. Lucy Rede Franco Middle School Principal Rogelio Zubia had also tendered his resignation a month prior.
Superintendent Ray Vasquez officially tendered his resignation at Monday night’s special school board meeting. Vasquez had served the district since 2019 after leaving his post at Brownfield ISD, a small district located outside of Lubbock.
“The board would like to express our gratitude for his time at Presidio ISD and wish him all the best in his future endeavors,” School Board President Iris Galindo wrote in a statement on behalf of the board. “We want to reassure the community that the district will continue to move forward and great things will continue to happen at Presidio ISD.”
Vasquez did not respond to a request for comment.
Lucy Rede Franco Middle School Principal Rogelio Zubia also resigned last week after deciding to return to counseling and mental healthcare services — which was his specialty before taking on positions in school administration.
Zubia said that his training as a counselor informed his leadership, especially in the fraught pandemic years. “I’m an educator at heart, so it was a great opportunity to work with the students,” he said. “I was being a principal through a mental health standpoint, so I was able to not only address the academic needs of the students and teachers but their emotional well-being as well.”
He hoped that the person who would eventually take his post would adapt the flexibility and understanding needed to work with young teenagers trying to find their place in the world. Educating parents about school policy, he felt, would help the school function more smoothly, even in the face of transition. “We reduce a lot of misunderstandings and unfairness if parents step up to the plate — in learning the policies and making sure that the leaders follow those policies,” he said.
Students, parents and staff were also informed last week that Presidio High School Principal Hevila Ramos would be stepping down and instead taking on a new position as curriculum coordinator.
Over the past few years, Ramos has become passionate about developing curriculum for the high school’s English language acquisition students and hopes to extend the same innovation and enthusiasm to other campuses in the district. She also hopes to use her 25 years of experience as a high school educator to shape curriculum for younger students that will prepare them for secondary education.
Ramos has served as principal since 2019, providing guidance for students and parents during the difficult pandemic years — as well as through triumphs in sports, extracurriculars and other school activities. “I will have wonderful memories from my principal years at Presidio High School and will miss the direct interaction with the students,” she wrote in an email to The Presidio International.
At press time, there were 33 open positions with the Presidio ISD, including the high school and middle school principal positions. The district did not respond to a request for comment asking for details about how the new superintendent will be chosen.