The Hays CISD board of trustees approved hiring two new principals—both district employees for 17 years—at its June 25 meeting.

Karen Zuniga, who has been the Science Hall Elementary School principal since 2017, will serve as the new principal of Lehman High School, replacing Denisha Presley, who was hired to lead San Marcos High School for the 2019-20 school year in May. Zuniga began her career with Hays CISD in 2002, teaching at Hemphill and Tobias elementary schools before becoming an instructional strategist and then the assistant principal at Chapa Middle School.

Zuniga took the top spot at Science Hall at a time that the school was not meeting state standards, according to the Texas Education Agency; the next year, Science Hall students did meet those standards.

A new principal for Carpenter Hill Elementary School was also chosen by the board at the June 25 meeting. Ginger Bordeau, an assistant principal at Buda Elementary School, will fill the role. Bordeau has been with the district since 2002, teaching math and science at Wallace Middle School and Science Hall and Negley elementary schools before becoming an instructional coach and then the assistant principal at Tom Green Elementary School.

Bordeau was named Hays CISD assistant principal of the year in 2017 and the Texas Elementary and Principals Supervisors Association’s assistant principal of the year for Central Texas in 2019.