SAN BENITO — Weeks after his suspension, Gilbert Galvan has resigned as San Benito High School’s principal after 45 years as an educator.
On Thursday, school board members are set to appoint the school’s new principal after meeting in closed session.
On Dec. 9, Superintendent Theresa Servellon placed Galvan on paid administrative leave before he resigned Jan. 6, district spokeswoman Isabel Gonzalez stated Tuesday.
Meanwhile, officials have remained mum regarding the reason behind his suspension, stating they cannot comment on “personnel matters.”
Across the community, the suspension of the longtime district administrator who had previously served as the city’s mayor has fueled widespread speculation while parents and students have spun a range of rumors on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.
Overseeing school’s daily operations
Since Galvan’s suspension, Amy Rodriguez, the district’s new director of secondary instructional implementation, has been overseeing the school’s daily operations, officials stated.
After working as a San Benito school district teacher and administrator, Rodriguez served with the South San Antonio school district, where Superintendent Theresa Servellon worked before returning here last March.
In San Antonio, Rodriguez worked as a principal and director of career and technical education, officials stated.
At the high school, she has been working with the campus’ team of assistant principals, they stated.
Climbing career ladder
During the current school year, Galvan was serving as president of the Texas Association of Secondary School Principals.
Last June, Servellon, then serving as interim superintendent, reassigned Galvan from his job as Veterans Memorial Academy’s principal to principal of San Benito High School amid her reassignment of several top administrators.
Years before taking the job as Veterans Memorial Academy’s principal in 2013, Galvan was working his way up as an administrator, serving as principal of Ed Downs Elementary School before going on to Frank Roberts Elementary.
Before returning to the school district, he had served as principal of Raymondville High School before working as principal at L.C. Smith Elementary School.
Background
Before taking a job with the Raymondville school district, Galvan had worked as a San Benito school teacher, also serving as the Texas Classroom Teachers Association’s president.
In 2009, he ran for the San Benito school board’s Place 1 seat in an election in which incumbent Robert Tumberlinson defeated him by an 11-vote margin.
While working as a San Benito teacher, Galvan entered politics in 1986, when he won election to a city commission seat.
Two years later, he was elected the city’s mayor.
