District May Hire New El Camino High School Principal Soon

District staff may present a candidate to become the next principal of as early as Thursday’s school board meeting, according to Assistant Superintendent Bob Thompson.

, and so far only one has been filled: Milissa Banister will replace Tim Sullivan as principal of Skyline Elementary School.

Thompson said the district is in the middle of the hiring process for , and . Principal Leigh Woodmansee of .

Thompson said it can be challenging to screen applications and check references over the summer.

“Some of these principal positions opened up a little bit late,” he said.

After advertising open positions statewide and screening for minimum qualifications, Thompson said district staff paper screens the remaining applications and scores them to determine who will get an interview.

Candidates interview before a panel that includes a parent, a teacher and a member of the classified staff, Thomson said. The superintendent and district cabinet interview finalists, who also submit to reference checks.

The district staff presents its recommendation to the school board, which makes the final hiring approval. If the board hires the El Camino candidate Thursday, there will be four more principal vacancies to fill.