ALBANY PARK — Roosevelt High School principal Pilar Vazquez-Vialva has resigned from her post two weeks before school starts and a new phase in the school's history begins.
Vazquez-Vialva said her husband accepted a job in California, and her decision to leave was not impacted by the ongoing budget crisis engulfing CPS.
"It's a rough climate right now — it doesn't help, [but] it wasn't the driving factor [for leaving]," she said.
Vazquez-Vialva announced her resignation from Roosevelt, 3436 W. Wilson Ave., in an email to the school community Wednesday and confirmed the news to DNAinfo.
"This decision was not easy, especially given the strides we are making and the honor of building a middle school," she wrote in her letter.
Her departure comes at an inopportune time, Vazquez-Vialva acknowledged. This school year marks the first year that Roosevelt will incorporate a middle school into its building.
The high school has merged with Marshall Middle School's Irving Park campus to form the newly created Roosevelt Middle School.
Vazquez-Vialva said she has been working on the merger all summer to make ensure a smooth transition for the new families. As recently as last week, she was hosting an open house for the new families that will be affected by the merger.
"There's a lot of mixed feelings," she said of her departure. "I'm hoping that my leaving will not be a disturbance to the work that is just gaining speed."
Vazquez-Vialva, who served two years as principal at Roosevelt, said the school is in a great place. But she said the district's budget woes and the political culture surrounding CPS made the job more difficult.
She said Roosevelt has lost about $2.5 million in funding in the last two years. The school has lost numerous staff due to budget cuts, she said, including an outspoken but beloved history teacher.
"The needs are there, but the money keeps going away," Vazquez-Vialva said. "It's very hard."
Though she left for personal reasons, Vazquez-Vialva has joined the growing number of CPS principals, teachers and administrators who have fled the district.
More than 50 principals have left the district this year.
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