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Dublin’s brand-new high school is already in the midst of a leadership change at the top, as founding principal Francis Rojas abruptly resigned from Emerald High School on Thursday.
Dublin Unified School District Superintendent Chris Funk confirmed the news in an email note to the school community that same day. He told staff and families that Emerald’s assistant principal, Lenni Velez, was in line to become the next permanent principal, pending ratification by the Board of Trustees at next Tuesday’s meeting.
“Principal Rojas has resigned from his position at Emerald High School. This change is effective immediately,” Funk wrote, in part, in his one-paragraph message. “The District Office will ensure EHS receives proper administrative support for the rest of the school year.”
Attempts to contact Rojas for comment on Friday have been unsuccessful.
DUSD director of communications Chip Dehnert said he did not have any details on the reason for Rojas’ resignation. A request for a copy of the resignation letter is pending.
Hired in July 2022 from Milpitas High School, where he was also principal, Rojas led Emerald High for two years of construction before the campus on Central Parkway opened to freshman and sophomore students for the first time this August. With other phases of construction still ongoing, the school is expected to welcome a new class of students each of the next two academic years, reaching full capacity for the 2026-27 term.
The district’s second comprehensive high school and largely funded by local bond money, Emerald was built to help alleviate overcrowding issues at Dublin High School and address inequity concerns for students and families in the expanding east side of the city.
“Mr. Rojas did a great job getting Emerald off the ground,” Funk said in a subsequent statement Friday.
“He was tremendous at engaging the community the year before the school opened,” Funk added. “He helped the school navigate the challenges of sharing a campus with Dublin High School and working collaboratively with all stakeholders to transition the ninth and tenth grades to Emerald this year. He will be missed by the Emerald community.”
Rojas had been principal at Milpitas High for five years before coming to Dublin. He spent the bulk of his education career (2002 to 2017) at James Logan High School in Union City, where he was a science teacher, director of student activities, assistant principal, house principal and school-wide vice principal.
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