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At a special meeting on Tuesday, the Socorro School board accepted Aubrey Tucker’s resignation as superintendent effective December 12.
“It is with much gratitude and thanks that we accept Mr. Tucker’s letter of resignation for this district,” Dave Hicks, board president, said, “We have been very well guided. We are extremely appreciative of Mr. Tucker. We have been we have learned a lot we have in a very short time.”
Hicks said under Tucker’s direction the board approved over 40 policies.
“I would like to just echo the gratitude. I think I personally feel like I’ve learned a ton as a board member with this process, and I know there’s been a lot of change, and change isn’t easy, but I also feel like it’s tilling the soil to be able to grow something beautiful,” Sharon Sessions, school board member, said.
Board Member Tara Jaramillo also expressed her gratitude to Tucker.
“You’ve taken a ragtag team and you’ve made us and you know the policies and procedures that are in place, understanding the direction of the board, understanding what our roles are,” Jaramillo said, “The insight from a board member, also as an administrator, has been invaluable in allowing us to see both sides and how we should be proceeding.”
Tucker thanked the board for the opportunity to serve their district.
“I can’t tell you how humbled I am to have been at the helm of this wonderful place,” Tucker said, “You have extremely talented administrators in this district, and very talented instructors and some wonderful children, our children, I am grateful for the work that I was able to show you.”
Hicks announced they will start the process of searching for a new superintendent with the help of Tucker.
“We do have a pretty quick timeline here that has been presented to us. I want to assure everybody that we are still very much looking for that candidate that’s an absolute fit with the wow factor that makes us all feel comfortable, that fits this district, fits the long-term goals of us as a board, and us as a district in the direction we want to go.” Hicks said.
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In June of this year, Ron Hendrix, who had served as superintendent since July 2017, expressed shock at the notice of his termination. The school board unanimously voted to rescind the contract that was offered to him in January and also to place Hendrix on administrative paid leave effective immediately. No comments were made by the board members on the vote.
On June 27, two days after the vote to rescind Ron Hendrix’s contract, Aubrey Tucker was offered the position of interim superintendent.
Tucker serves on the Belen Board of Education and was first elected in 2019 and was re-elected in 2023. Tucker served in the U.S. Army from 1988 to 1993, before moving to Valencia County in 1994, where he worked as a teacher, band director and administrator for the Belen Consolidated Schools for 14 years.
Editor’s note Julia M. Dendinger of the Valencia County News Bulletin contributed to this story.
