District trustees emerged from a marathon special meeting to announce that Downes, the district's superintendent since 2002, had resigned.

   His resignation is effective June 30. No timetable has been announced for naming a replacement.

   Downes has been under investigation by the Texas Education Agency since a complaint was filed against him in November 2007. The complaint, filed by former BSISD instructor Jamie Owen, allegedly contains accusations of improper relationships with students during a previous stop in Downes' educational career, although details of the complaint have not been made public.

“When the board received notice in November 2007 of the TEA complaint, its perception was that Mr. Downes was performing a commendable job as the district's chief executive and sincerely believed that the allegations made in the TEA complaint would be resolved quickly,” said Fred Stormer, the district's attorney, in a statement on behalf of the board.

“A quick resolution did not ensue and the TEA investigation continues,” Stormer added. “The TEA complaint has proven to be a distraction for Mr. Downes, the district's faculty and students and the community at large. For this reason, the district and Mr. Downes determined that it would be in their best interest to end their employment relationship.”

The statement added that the resignation was entirely voluntary on Downes' part. A employment separation agreement — details of which were not immediately released — was reached between Downes and BSISD Thursday night.

Downes came to Big Spring as superintendent in 2002 after a similar stint in Bovina. In all, his educational career spans more than 20 years as a teacher and administrator.

He did not attend Thursday's meeting and was unavailable for comment.

After the meeting adjourned, a somber Irene Galan, president of the school board, said no timetable has been set for naming either an interim or permanent replacement for Downes. However, she expressed confidence that the school district would move forward in the meantime.

“This has been a very delicate situation, as you well know,” Galan said. “But we feel this is the best scenario for everyone concerned. This situation has been very distressing, not just for Michael Downes and the district, but for the community as a whole. Now, with this behind us, we feel things should start getting back to normal.”

Galan said the district will likely name an interim superintendent soon, as well as contract with a search committee to find a permanent superintendent.

“But I feel confident we'll start the new (school) year off on the right foot, with or without a superintendent,” Galan said. “Our employees have been here a long time and they all do a fine job, so I don't see a problem there.”

With the district aiming at another bond election in November, Galan was asked whether Downes' resignation was an effort to eliminate unwanted distractions prior to the next election.

“This action was not connected with the bond election,” she said. “I can't speak for the public. Maybe (Downes) was an issue, maybe he wasn't. We just feel this was the best solution for all parties.”

 Contact Staff Writer Steve Reagan at 263-7331 ext. 234 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it