La Feria Decides on New Superintendent

Board Selects Rey Villarreal of Laredo ISD as Lone Finalist

by MBWright, LFN Editor

After months of applicants, meetings and negotiations, the La Feria ISD School Board selected Raymundo (Rey) P. Villarreal, Jr. as lone finalist for the position of Superintendent of Schools for the district in a special meeting held July 3.

Villarreal will be coming to La Feria from his position as Assistant Superintendent of Plant Facilities and Support Services with Laredo ISD. His responsibilities entailed several departments and included managing construction for two large bond issues, curriculum, personnel and safety officers. The Laredo ISD district has 25,000 students and 28 campuses.

“Laredo is an urban district and I am grateful for the experience, but with my extensive experience with 3-A and 4-A districts, I look forward to working in the La Feria schools,” commented Villarreal.

“The board was unanimous in its decision to hire Mr. Villarreal. We were impressed with his diverse experience in all levels of education and he seems very motivated to make the move to La Feria”, said LFISD Board President Juan Briones. He said he was also in charge of safety and it will be good to have someone to see what upgrades the district might need.

President Briones added that Villarreal will be confirmed at the board meeting July 25 and will then be on the job. He said the first thing he wil do is evaluate all departments and see where we can make adjustments.

“La Feria is a good district, it is not broken; but we need to take it to the next level,” concluded Briones.

Before coming to Laredo in 2010, Villarreal was the Superintendent of Schools in Crystal City ISD for two years. Additionally, he was Assistant Superintendent for Personnel and Instruction in Big Spring from 2002-2007.

He began his education career in 1978 teaching English and coaching tennis. Villarreal is a cum laude graduate of Angelo State University and received his Masters degrees and Superintendent certificate from Sul Ross State University.

“I have never lived in South Texas, but I haveheard lots of positive things and I look forward to working with the kids to build on the successes of past administrations and make it better. I am looking forward to being a part of that and thrilled to have this position,” concluded Villarreal in a phone interview.

He has been very active in community activities and in his spare time enjoys running, tennis, reading, golf and hiking. Villarreal has run 23 marathons with a best time of 3 hours and 8 minutes.

The new superintendent is married to Isabel Villarreal, a life-long educator currently working with dyslexic children. They have three daughters: Dr. Maria Villarreal, DDS, University of Detroit, Mercy (2005); Monica Villarreal, J.D., Georgetown University Law School (2006); and Veronica Villarreal, a recent graduate of the University of Texas at Austin (2009). Maria is currently practicing dentistry in San Antonio and Monica is a lawyer in New York City. Veronica is currently a second-year medical student at the University of Illinois Medical School, Chicago Branch.