Pond Elementary School Principal Carlos Diaz-Granados will retire on June 30.
The Rockwood School District Board of Education voted 4-0 on March 2 to approve his retirement. Keith Kinder and Tamara Rhomberg were not present for the vote, and Randy Miller was not at the meeting.
Diaz-Granados, 53, said he is sad to leave Pond Elementary but is excited to begin the next chapter in his life.
“I’m beyond grateful for the opportunities this school has given me, but I’m excited for my future and my family’s future,” he said.
Before the start of the next school year, Diaz-Granados and his wife, Fawn, are making a big move west to the Sacramento area, in California, where he will be the principal of Loomis Grammar School in Loomis, Calif. The pair also will be closer to their two children, who both attend college on the West Coast.
“My daughter is going to be a junior at UC (University of California) Santa Barbara, and my son is enrolling at Santa Barbara City College,” he said. “I’m just so excited to be in the same state as my kids as they continue their education and excited about having an opportunity to continue doing what I love.”
Diaz-Granados is being paid $161,701.57 this school year, according to district officials.
Superintendent Curtis Caid said Diaz-Granados will be missed.
“(Pond Elementary) is a tight-knit school community, and Carlos has done an amazing job of continuing that notion of family,” Cain said. “It is a very warm building when you are in it, and I think that is reflective of not only the energy and talents of Carlos, but the other staff in the building as well.”
Diaz-Granados said he has been the principal at Pond Elementary for 15 years and has been in education since 1992.
He said one of his greatest joys in life was being the principal when his children attended Pond Elementary.
“I don’t know if it was as amazing for them as it was for me,” he said jokingly. “But that was really special for me.”
Diaz-Granados said, in many ways, he hates to leave the community he loves so much. But he will always be a Pond Panther at heart.
“Every single day I look forward to coming into work,” he said. “The students, their families, the teachers – they have all been so amazing here. It sounds really cliche, but, truly, it’s been such a privilege to be a part of this community.”
Diaz-Granados lives in University City with his wife.