LCPS board selects school principal as interim leader after superintendent’s death

UPDATE: After five hours of deliberation on Monday night, the LCPS board voted to name Ralph Ramos as the school district's interim superintendent.

Ramos, the principal of El Camino Real Middle School, will serve in the role through the end of June - or until a permanent superintendent is hired.

"What an honor to be here - to be able to serve Las Cruces Public Schools in the remembrance of Dr. Trujillo," Ramos said. "Especially during this needed time."

ORIGNAL REPORT: LAS CRUCES, New Mexico -- Following the untimely death of Las Cruces Public Schools Superintendent Karen Trujillo, the board of education was meeting late Monday afternoon and into the evening to determine who will lead the district for now. You can watch it in the video player above.

Trujillo, 50, died after being struck by a van while walking her dogs in her neighborhood last Thursday evening. She led a district of nearly 25,000 students.

Board members held a 50-second moment of silence Monday evening in honor of the 50-year-old educator, mother and wife.

"For the young man involved in this, pray for him too," said Karen's husband, Ben Trujillo, last Friday. "Accidents are accidents... Karen would want us all to move forward."

Trujillo joined LCPS in the fall of 2019 as interim superintendent before being hired for the job in February 2020. She navigated the district through the tumultuous and period of the pandemic.

As of Monday afternoon, police had not announced any charges filed in her death.

At the board meeting, officials took time remember Trujillo and played a video she made when they first hired her, which you can watch in the video player at the bottom of this article.

A Trujillo memorial scholarship fund has also been established at New Mexico State University. Click here for details.