Eagle Pass High School Principal Vale Moreno files Grievance against Superintendent Gilberto Gonzalez on his reassignment

By: Jose G. Landa, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2016

Eagle Pass High School Principal Vale Moreno filed a grievance against Eagle Pass Independent School District Superintendent Gilberto Gonzalez concerning his reassignment to Ray Darr Elementary on Friday, January 15, 2016.

Moreno complains of his sudden and unexpected reassignment by Superintendent Gonzalez and seeks to be reinstated to his position as Eagle Pass High School Principal.

Gonzalez’s discretionary decision to reassign Moreno from Eagle Pass High School to Ray Darr Elementary has been extremely unpopular with faculty and staff of Eagle Pass High School as well as students and parents.

Eagle Pass High School faculty, staff, and parents presented a petition to the Eagle Pass Independent School District Board of Trustees at their meeting held on Tuesday, January 12, 2016, requesting Moreno’s reassignment be rescinded because it was not in the best interest of students and local school district taxpayers.

EPISD General Counsel Richard Strieber advised the School Board at the January 12th meeting that the School Board did not have authority to rescind the discretionary decision made by Superintendent Gonzalez to reassign Moreno.  The EPISD School Board took no action based on legal counsel’s opinion.

Moreno’s grievance will now follow standard personnel grievance procedures within the Eagle Pass Independent School District, which should take several weeks to resolve.

Meanwhile, the Eagle Pass Independent School District is rapidly proceeding with interviewing candidates for the now vacant Principal position at Eagle Pass High School and the School Board has scheduled a special meeting on Thursday, January 21, 2016 at 12 Noon at the District’s Central Office Board Room, located at 1420 Eidson Road, to discuss and take possible action on the hiring of a new principal for Eagle Pass High School.  The EPISD School Board appears to be committed to hiring a new principal at Eagle Pass High School as legally expedient.

The EPISD School Board is composed of Lupita Fuentes, President; Hilda P. Martinez, Vice-President; Dr. Hector Alvarez, Secretary; Glenna Purcell, Trustee; Ignacio J. Saucedo, Trustee; Rudy Bowles, Trustee; and Humberto Torralba II, Trustee.