Athletic director’s departure latest in string of Weslaco ISD personnel changes

WESLACO — The school district here announced the resignation of longtime Director of Facilities and Athletics Oscar Riojas Friday, the latest in a months-long string of high level personnel changes at Weslaco Independent School District.

Riojas, who helmed the district’s athletic program for 22 years, is resigning to pursue other career activities, a release from WISD said. His last day will be June 30, according to a spokesperson.

Riojas joins an increasingly long list of people who half left the district’s employ over the last six months.

In December 2020, trustees narrowly voted to terminate Jones, Galligan, Key & Lozano as general counsel after about six years of working for the district.

In February, shortly after the board voted to launch a forensic audit, Superintendent Priscilla Canales announced her intention to retire at the end of the 2022 school year. Canales survived an attempt to suspend her pending the results of that audit the next month.

Earlier this month, the board made the district’s second payment for that audit — a sum of $73,562.50 — to the CPA firm conducting it. Earlier this year that firm told the board they could expect the results of the audit sometime around the end of the semester.

The board discussed other personnel difficulties in April, when Canales recommended contracting with former superintendent and school board trustee Richard Rivera on a temporary basis to address administrative staffing issues she said have left the district “overloaded.”

The board approved a contract bringing back Rivera on May 10, just days before it announced Riojas’ resignation.

That resignation leaves the district without a man who has become a fixture in the Rio Grande Valley sporting world over the past two decades.

During his tenure and leadership, Weslaco athletes have advanced to state competitions and racked up district championships, bi-district or area championships in football, basketball, cross country, swimming, golf, tennis, track and field, softball, baseball, wrestling and soccer, a district release said, noting that Weslaco athletes have won numerous academic all-state distinctions and that boys and girls powerlifting teams have won several state championships.

“I am most proud of the young men and women who represented Weslaco ISD with respect, class and pride,” Riojas wrote in the release. “It has been a tremendous honor to have served Weslaco ISD, our children, and community.”

Riojas played a large role in expanding programs like soccer and baseball to the middle schools, the release said, and received recognition as the Region VII Regional Athletic Director of the Year in consecutive years, along with the title of RGVCA Athletic Administrator of the Year.

“I have worked my hardest to represent our district to the best of my ability and do what is right for our WISD family on a daily basis,” Riojas wrote. “It has been a goal for me to work hard every day to leave a place better than I found it. I believe that I have accomplished my goal, as I am proud of what we have built as a team for the last 22 years.”

The statement said Riojas sent his thanks to the students and coaches that made up the district’s athletics program during his time there.

“I know that I will miss so much about our WISD family. I will miss meeting with coaches, student-athletes, the competitiveness of our programs and how our students represented their community, schools and their family, which is what this is all about,” he wrote. “I will most miss my usual spot where I stood on game night to experience the magic first hand.”

Riojas did not return calls seeking additional comment on his resignation.

On Monday the board heard the qualifications the district would seek in Riojas’ replacement as athletic director.

His replacement is required to have a bachelor’s degree and a valid Texas teaching certificate, Canales told them. The district would also prefer that the individual have a masters degree in education and administration, a Texas principal or other appropriate administrative Texas certificate, and a valid Texas teaching certificate with a physical education/kinesiology endorsement.

Signs of other relatively high changes in administrative personnel were evident in meetings held by the board this month.

On Monday the board approved revisions to the district’s compensation plan for the 2020-2021 fiscal year to reflect the addition of several positions, including director of athletics, director of safety and security, and director of guidance and counseling/college, career and military readiness.

Canales said the original plan didn’t include those titles, and that the district currently has vacancies it would like to fill which requires putting them into the compensation plan for this year prior to approving the compensation plan for the upcoming school year.

The board managed to fill one of its leadership positions Monday, approving Christopher Javier Fernandez as Director of Fine Arts.

Although the board discussed naming a Safety and Security Director last week, they don’t appear to have made that move yet.