A familiar face will fill the role of interim superintendent after Andrew Schwab leaves his job leading the Santa Ynez Valley Union High School District at the end of February.

Elysia Lewis, chief business official, has been appointed interim superintendent after the board voted 4-0 in closed session to make the appointment, board president Chris Johnson said. 

Board members also voted 3-1 to approve a mutually agreed upon release date of Feb. 29 for Schwab, who led the district since summer 2021.

In December, Schwab was hired as superintendent of the Dos Palos-Oro Loma Joint Unified School District in the San Joaquin Valley.

Schwab is scheduled to start the new job leading schools that sit mostly in southern Merced County on March 25, with the contract set to end three years later.

Lewis, who has served as a member of the Buellton City Council since December 2020, has worked in the high school district’s business office for nearly eight years. 

She previously served two years as the Vista Del Mar Union School District’s chief business official and two years as registrar at the Santa Ynez high school district. 

Lewis grew up in the Santa Ynez Valley and graduated from Olive Grove Charter School. 

The appointment of Lewis provides some stability for the district that lost its principal last year and has had two interim principals for the 2023-24 school year. 

When Michael Niehoff left after one year as the Pirates principal, the job went unfilled despite advertisements noting the vacancy.

Mitchell Torina filled in as interim principal for the first half of the school year, with Andrew Alvidrez now filling the seat.

The district advertised for a combined superintendent/principal to fill the top jobs with Educational Leadership Services hired to spearhead the search.

A survey related to the search remains available on the district website, and Friday is the deadline for completing the survey. 

The district oversees the Santa Ynez Valley Union High School plus Refugio High School, a continuation school.

Students come from valley’s six feeder districts — Ballard, Buellton, College, Los Olivos, Solvang and Vista del Mar.