OXNARD : Principal Chosen for High School

A school administrator from Northern California will take over as principal of Oxnard High School next fall, officials said Friday.

Rick Rezinas, principal of Riverbank High School in Stanislaus County, will replace Ruperto Cisneros, who requested a reassignment from the principal’s position last school year.

Cisneros will transfer to Channel Islands High School, also in the Oxnard Union High School District, where he will work as a counselor, said district Personnel Director Bill Studt.

Cisneros’ request for reassignment came in the wake of a brawl between black and Latino students at Oxnard High last February. The fight sparked concern from parents and community groups about campus safety and harmony between students of different races.

Riverbank High School, which is about 50% Latino, has a racial makeup similar to Oxnard High’s, Studt said. Last school year, Oxnard High was 57% Latino, 29% Anglo, 6% black and the remainder of the students were Asian, Filipino and other ethnic groups.

Rezinas has worked as an educator for 19 years, starting out as a mathematics teacher at St. Monica High School, a parochial school in Santa Monica. He also taught in the Las Virgenes Unified School District, and was assistant principal at Riverbank High.

Rezinas received a bachelor’s degree in math and a master’s degree in school administration from Cal State Northridge. He is working on a Ph.D. in education at the University of La Verne.

District trustees must take a final vote on Rezinas’ appointment before it becomes official, Studt said.