KERMIT Kermit ISD Superintendent Joe Lopez describes his feelings as honored and humbled at being chosen as Superintendent of the Year for Region 18.
Entering his fourth year as head of the roughly 1,375 student district, Lopez will be heading to Austin Aug. 25-26 for interviews.
Those superintendents will be narrowed to five and interviewed in September. The Superintendent of the Year award will be presented at the Texas Association of School Boards Convention Sept. 29.
“I’m honored and humbled to even be in this position to be able to serve KISD and to also be the Region 18 nominee for superintendent of the year,” Lopez said.
“I take great pride in representing West Texas. Out here, three things are very important — being honest, being transparent and calling it like it is. I think if you can do those three things, that’s what makes you successful and that’s what makes our school successful and having open communication, of course, with our Board of Trustees,” he added.
Lopez is quick to give credit to the students, custodians, paraprofessionals, nurses and the community as a whole for his recognition.
“This recognition is really an achievement for everyone who’s part of this team. It’s not just an individual accolade. For me, it has so much more meaning and it represents everything great that is happening in our community here in KISD,” he added.
Lopez has been in education for 23 years starting off as an eighth-grade literature teacher. In his third year of teaching, he moved into the role of assistant principal at the middle school level in Alief ISD in Houston.
He was then a high school assistant principal, elementary principal, high school principal, executive director for state and federal programs at Mission Consolidated ISD and superintendent in Taft ISD near Corpus Christi.
Lopez earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and public management with a minor in English from Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Mo., his master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from Houston Baptist University and Texas A&M International University in Laredo and his doctorate in educational administrative leadership from Capella University.
After graduating from college, Lopez said he had the opportunity to attend law school, but missed the GPA cut by .5.
He went back home and met with his pastor at the time. The pastor told him he didn’t mean to hurt Lopez’ feelings, but he never saw him as an attorney.
“Have you ever thought about education because I had worked with the church, had done summer youth groups and worked with parents and families. I actually drove back up to Houston. I remember it was August. I enrolled in an alternative certification program through Houston Baptist University. I submitted my application to Alief ISD on a Wednesday. On Friday, I was interviewed for a position and Saturday I was decorating my classroom and Monday I started with kids,” Lopez said.
A native of Mission, hometown of Tom Landry, education was not his original goal, but Lopez said it was the best decision he ever made.
“I’ve loved every single moment of it,” he added.
Together, Lopez and his wife, Michele, a special education teacher and coach at Kermit, have four children.
One of the things he’s been part of during his tenure is passage of a $62.5 million bond, that passed in May.
There were three propositions and two of three passed. Teacher housing did not pass.
Projects in the works are adding a career and technical wing to the high school, safety and security upgrades to all campuses, adding a fifth-grade wing to the elementary school, renovations to the football field, an eight-lane track, new concession stands, new bathrooms, a new press box, adding a softball-baseball complex, new tennis courts and adding a turf field with an eight-lane track to the junior high.
The fifth grade is currently housed at the junior high and this will bring those students back to the elementary.
“We are looking at also some academic improvements — classroom renovations to the elementary. Included in that also is a complete renovation to our junior high school, which is one of our oldest buildings; A/C upgrades, new lighting, new ceilings, new flooring, new bathrooms (and) bringing everything up to ADA with the new standards,” Lopez said.
As part of the bond, they are scheduled to begin demolition of the old high school, which is no longer used, Sept. 1. That’s where the new CTE wing will be built.
When he first arrived in Kermit in 2019, Lopez said he met with community members at civic clubs, parent meetings and doing walk-arounds in the community.
The bond came down to what the district really needed.
“That really gave me an opportunity to hear … (about) the needs of the district, so this process really began … three and a half years ago,” Lopez said.
“I have a superintendents advisory council for my parents, for my staff and for my students. Along the way, I’m gathering information and giving them back the information as it comes up. When we went out for the bond, we were blessed that a lot of the legwork had been done on the front end. So as we began to advocate for the bond, our community was informed and that made a huge difference,” he added.
