Villalobos resigns from Modesto City Schools board

Rubén Villalobos has resigned, effective Sunday, from the Modesto City Schools Board of Education.

The board’s next regular meeting is Jan. 20, but a special meeting is expected to be called next week to vote on either appointing a replacement or holding a special election to fill the vacancy. The board has until March 5 to appoint a successor or order an election.

Reached by phone Friday, Villalobos said he will be sworn in at 1 p.m. Monday as a Stanislaus Superior Court judge and on Tuesday starts work on the other side of the tall bench. “I’ll have some training, shadowing other judges and learning the job,” he said. He has not yet been assigned a courtroom.

Villalobos, 41, was elected to the board in 2009 and re-elected in November 2013. He leaves with nearly three years left in his term. “I think I’m leaving at a really good time,” he said, with recession-era cuts behind them and school days restored.

“I joined to do what I could to keep classroom teachers in the classroom,” Villalobos said, adding, “We’ve gotten through a lot of ups and downs over the last five years.”

The district released his letter soon after it was received Friday morning. The letter says it was an honor to serve: “As much as I hate to leave, I am comforted that our district is in great shape and in good hands,” it says.

This story was originally published January 2, 2015 at 3:48 PM with the headline "Villalobos resigns from Modesto City Schools board."