A new interim principal has been appointed to Pueblo High School amid an investigation into the school’s previous leader, Frank Rosthenhausler.
Alma Mejia-Garcia, an assistant principal last year, will take the reins of the school. The Tucson Unified School District governing board unanimously approved Mejia-Garcia for the role at its Tuesday meeting.
"I take my place in this family with great responsibility, and I look forward to building upon the important work and legacy of those who have served before me," Mejia-Garcia told the governing board Tuesday. "To my Pueblo family, I may not have all the answers. But I can assure you, that I will always show up with sincere and unwavering commitment, to doing what is best for our students."
Alma Meija-Garcia, previously an assistant principal, will be Pueblo High School's new interim principal following an investigation into the former principal.
The administrative change came after several staffers at Pueblo asked for the removal of the principal after alleging a pattern of sexism, intimidation and retaliation.
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More than a dozen current and former teachers, a student and a former student presented the board with a list of grievances against Rosthenhausler in June. Rosthenhausler had been principal at Pueblo, 3500 S. 12th Ave., for eight years, and is now on administrative leave.
Jeanette Rupel, a freshman English teacher at Pueblo, told the Star on Thursday she felt hopeful for the upcoming school year with new leadership, but was afraid of Rosthenhausler coming back from administrative leave and facing “all the same issues again, and we'll have the retaliation that he's known for.”
“I do feel like this is a great opportunity, as long as we stick to new leadership,” she said. “(Mejia-Garcia) is definitely way more supportive. Today was our first day back with her. We are also getting support from our assistant superintendent, which helps right now, but people are still concerned that it's interim. There's a lot of concern that the district will still bring back the old principal, and we just can't have that.”
She said the district hasn’t communicated when final decisions would be made, but the assistant superintendent told staff Thursday morning “this is going to be a fluid year.”
“It's very important that certain things are solid, that we have an administration that is respectful and supports our students and supports staff,” Rupel said. “So having a person in leadership tell us that we have to be ready for these big changes, especially at the beginning of the school year, does make teachers nervous.”
The district launched a culture and climate review in May, which remains ongoing.
“I am genuinely happy for Alma,” Rosthenhausler said in a text message to the Star. “She, along with Assistant Principal Ms. Mayersohn, is incredibly talented. I have every confidence they will continue to do great things because, together with an outstanding staff, we built strong and sustainable systems that will continue to support both students and teachers.”
He said he missed the teachers and staff members who “became like family” to him, along with the students.
“They are, and always will be, a part of my soul,” Rosthenhausler said. “Watching them learn, grow and overcome challenges has been the greatest privilege of my career.”
Damon Lovato was also appointed as interim principal of Mary Meredith K-12 School, temporarily replacing principal Judy Mitchell, who had to step away for personal matters.
"It's unfortunate that we had the situations that required these two appointments tonight, but I'm glad we have such an amazing, deep bench of folks to stand up and step up for these roles," board president Ravi Shah said Tuesday.
