The leader of the South Texas school district that experienced a fatal mass shooting earlier this year has announced his retirement.
San Antonio CBS affiliate KENS reported that Dr. Hal Harrell will continue to serve as superintendent of the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District (UCISD) until it names a new replacement.
Harrell’s announcement came more than four months after an 18-year-old gunman opened fire on Robb Elementary School and took the lives of 21 people, including 19 students.
KENS reported that the UCISD School Board voted to direct the district’s legal counsel to conduct a search for Harrell’s successor on Monday.
Harrell himself informed UCISD staff members in writing that he was mulling retirement in an effort to reduce the shock associated with the item on the board’s Monday agenda, the station reported.
Austin NBC affiliate KXAN reported that the board unanimously accepted the superintendent’s resignation, which occurred following UCISD’s decision to suspend the police force.
UCISD police have been the subject of ire and scrutiny after it was revealed that officers who were summoned to Robb on May 24 waited an hour before receiving orders to confront the shooter.
“Recent developments have uncovered additional concerns with department operations,” the district said in a statement, per KXAN.
Pete Arrendondo, the police force’s chief at the time of the shooting, was terminated in August.
San Antonio ABC affiliate KSAT reported that the victims’ families felt that their ordeal didn’t have to come to both developments.
“This didn’t need to happen … We just wanted transparency and accountability,” Kimberly Rubio, who lost her daughter Lexi in the tragedy, said, according to KSAT.
A group of Robb family members camped out in front of the UCISD offices to demand accountability, but the protest’s key organizers also shared Rubio’s sentiments, the station reported.
“Hal should be fighting for them too, these were his employees,” Nikki Cross told KSAT. “These were students in his district.”
A product of Uvalde schools, Harrell has more than 30 years of experience in the field of education.
