Robb Elementary principal moves to new role at Uvalde CISD

Gutierrez will work as the district's assistant director of special education. She is "fulfilling her desire to support special education students across the district," the letter said.

UVALDE, Texas (KXAN) — Former Robb Elementary School principal Mandy Gutierrez will have a new role at Uvalde CISD in the new school year, Superintendent Hal Harrell wrote in a letter to families.

Gutierrez will work as the district's assistant director of special education. She is "fulfilling her desire to support special education students across the district," the letter said.

Gutierrez was previously slated to become principal at Uvalde Elementary, where third-grade and fourth-grade students will attend, "under the direction of the teachers and support staff from Robb Elementary," according to the Uvalde CISD website.

She was put on leave with pay in July following the House committee's Uvalde school shooting report was released, her attorney Ricardo Cedillo said. But Gutierrez was reinstated days later.

The investigative report on the Uvalde shooting said Gutierrez testified in June that school leaders knew about locking issues with the door to classroom 111 prior to the shooting. Room 111 was one of two classrooms where the gunman largely carried out the May 24 massacre.

In a letter to the House committee and Uvalde's superintendent, Gutierrez wrote she was put on leave "pending a performance review relating to campus security." She addressed several points in the report including the door of classroom 111, Wi-Fi limitations and safety complacency.

“It is unfair and inaccurate to conclude that I ever [became] complacent on any security issue of Robb Elementary,” Gutierrez wrote.

Christy Perez will be the principal at Uvalde Elementary. The letter to families said Perez worked as an assistant principal at Uvalde High. "Her background as both a teacher and a counselor will be invaluable in ensuring students have the support they need during the upcoming school year," it said.

Students from Robb Elementary will be relocated to other Uvalde schools, the superintendent previously announced. The existing Robb Elementary campus will be demolished and rebuilt.

The Uvalde school board will have a special meeting Monday at 6 p.m. where they will discuss updates and changes to the new school year. An open forum will collect community input.

"While we continue to make progress, there is a lot of work still to be done and many questions that are yet to be answered," Harrell wrote in the letter. "We remain committed to working with you to understand and address your questions and concerns."

Teachers return to campuses on Aug. 9. The first day of school is Sept. 6.