In a little more than a year since he was hired, times have changed. He resigned Monday to take a deputy superintendent position with the Brownsville school district.
The following is a look back at Gonzalez’s time in Temple.
March 2006: Gonzalez gets his first glimpse at Temple during a tour of the city as assistant secretary of education for the office of vocational and adult education. He said he was impressed by Temple’s facilities and the level of community involvement with local institutions.
Gonzalez spoke to area students, encouraging them to work hard because they lived in an area with quality education.
“You all don’t have any excuses because you have a great school district, you have a vibrant community college, you have private sector business owners taking out their wallets to make sure that your facilities here are giving you a state-of-the-art education,” he said. “All you need to do is to do your part. Ask yourselves ‘Who am I on the way to becoming.’ We all have dreams and want to be somebody.”
June 19, 2006: Gonzalez is named the sole finalist for the superintendent position.
Then-board president Virginia Suarez said at the time the board was ecstatic about hiring someone with such prestige.
“We just felt he had the stuff that we felt that we needed to go forward in this district, to lead us to the next level,” Ms. Suarez said. “… He was strong in the things that we need at this time. He’s got homework to do to find out exactly where we are first so that we know where we need to go.”
July 11, 2006: A roomful of teachers, parents, and school administrators applauded enthusiastically as the Temple school district board of trustees unanimously approved Gonzalez’s contract. Community leaders who had met him said his arrival was a big win for the district.
“I think he has the type of leadership skills and the personality characteristics and traits to get along with anybody in the community,” board member Steve Wright said. “He has the personality and characteristics that are easy to blend with. I feel really good about it.”
Jan. 23, 2007: The new high school academy system is established, dividing extracurricular activities into related sections and creating a ninth-grade academy to help ease students into high school.
March 2007: Rumors surfaced over a supposed altercation between Gonzalez and then-principal Suzy McKinney at Kennedy-Powell Elementary.
April 13, 2007: Proposed chief of staff position tabled after public outcry against administrative spending.
May 11, 2007: A $19.9 million bond election, the first in 10 years, passes. It provides money for science department renovations, renovations to the Temple High School auditorium, and technology improvements in 600 district classrooms.
May 24, 2007: Temple High School was ranked among the nation’s top 5 percent by a Newsweek poll that ranks high schools by the number of students taking advanced placement classes.
July 24, 2007: The Temple school district settles a discrimination claim by Jennifer Washington, who said Gonzalez tried to force her to take a demotion while promoting a less-qualified Hispanic male above her.
Aug. 2, 2007: Temple has three recognized campuses but TAKS scores show a downturn in math and Meridith-Dunbar Elementary was rated as academically unacceptable.
Aug. 13: Gonzalez turns in his resignation to join the Brownsville school district as deputy superintendent. His last day is Sept. 7.
