San Marcos High School Principal Abruptly Resigns

By Holly Ratcliff

This Wednesday, Kelli Lopez, principal of San Marcos High School, announced her resignation.

Unfortunately, her resignation has transpired during a time of uncertainty; the school district is currently exploring violations of grading policies and unearned, awarded credits. Superintendent Michael Cardona confirmed that it was Lopez’s decision to resign and that she was not asked to do so.

According to James Barton, executive director for secondary education, an interim principal should be in position by October 3. Barton ensured parents that operations will continue to run smoothly thanks to their current staff members.

Clem Cantu, president of the SMCISD board of trustees, explained that the situation does present some difficulties as their hiring process takes place before or during the start of a semester.

For the remainder of the 2016-17 academic school year, Bobbie Turnbo will step in as interim principal. With 41 years of experience in education, the district referred to Turnbo with confidence, citing her past effectively engaging student participation and increasing attendance at another high school.

The SMCISD board of trustees will hold their meet as scheduled on October 3 and prepare the agenda accordingly to discuss this matter. The meeting will be held at 8 a.m. at the SMCISD Central Office, 501 S. LBJ Drive, San Marcos.

First employed in June 2014, Lopez also graduated from San Marcos High School in 1989. Prior to serving as assistant principal from 2012-13, she was an associate principal at Bastrop High School from January 2013 to June 2014.