La Reina High President Tony Guevara resigns amid closure conflict
La Reina High School and Middle School President Tony Guevara has resigned with less than five months remaining before the all-girls Catholic school is scheduled to close for good.
The school's board announced the decision in a letter sent to staff from Guevara's email account early Monday morning, saying the president was stepping aside for "medical reasons" but had agreed to work with the school in an advisory role until its closure.
"We offer Tony our deepest appreciation and respect for his dedication and service to La Reina and thank him for selflessly offering to continue in an advisory role," the letter says.
Guevara arrived at La Reina in the summer of 2017 to replace former school head Michael Bates. Attempts to reach Guevara by phone and LinkedIn on Monday afternoon were not successful.
La Reina is overseen by the Sisters of Notre Dame, a Catholic order that founded the Thousand Oaks school six decades ago. Laura Koehl, the chief operating officer for the order's National Ministry Corporation, confirmed Guevara's resignation in an email Monday afternoon.
The president's departure comes less than two weeks after Guevara announced to students, parents, staff and alumni that La Reina planned to close its doors at the end of the school year amid enrollment and budget troubles.
Monday's letter did not indicate when Guevara resigned or if he would continue to be paid, but it said Sister Jacquelyn Gusdane, an order member and former Catholic school administrator, will take over as acting president.
School Principal Maggie Marschner is on a leave of absence, the letter also says, meaning Gusdane will also lead day-to-day operations for the remaining 268 students.
The National Ministry Corporation oversaw a dramatic overhaul of La Reina's lay governing board last month. Seven of the board's nine directors "resigned or were asked to resign" in January, according to internet records and Koehl, the corporation's COO. In place of the departing seven members, the board added three new members with close ties to the religious order.
The Jan. 24 closure announcement triggered fierce, rapid resistance from La Reina families and alumni. Save La Reina, the group behind much of the organizing, put together online petitions, a fundraiser pledge drive and a packed Saturday protest.
In an email to its followers Monday afternoon, the group said that lawyers were considering legal action to keep the school open. The email stopped short of outlining the group's potential legal arguments.
Save La Reina had placed some of the blame for La Reina's closure at Guevara's feet, saying in one planning document that the president had "failed to solve or communicate financial issues at the school in a timely or transparent manner."
The group only touched briefly on the subject in its Monday email. Gusdane replaced Guevara, the email read, but Save La Reina wants new leaders: people who represent the "existing La Reina community."
Isaiah Murtaugh covers education for the Ventura County Star in partnership with Report for America. Reach him at isaiah.murtaugh@vcstar.com or 805-437-0236 and follow him on Twitter @isaiahmurtaugh and @vcsschools. You can support this work with a tax-deductible donation to Report for America.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: La Reina High School president resigns amid closure conflict
