St. Joseph High School in Orcutt has a new interim principal and plans to launch the search for a permanent replacement this fall for the job previously held by Erinn Dougherty. 

Anne Rigali will serve in the temporary role for the 2026-27 school year, according to a recent letter to the community from Santa Barbara Pastoral Regional Superintendent Michael Ronan with the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. 

Dougherty was placed on leave in the spring after reports of berating students, referring to “white trash public school behavior,” and other comments denigrating “renters” and “little workers.”

That rant occurred after some students egged on an altercation by urging, “fight, fight.”

Assistant Principal of Athletics Tom Mott served as lead administrator for the final weeks of the 2025-26 school year.

Dougherty, who arrived in 2018 to lead the school, did not participate in the class of 2026 graduation ceremony last month. She has since been removed from the online directory that names the school’s executive leadership team.

Archdiocese representatives said they do not comment on personnel matters and declined to say whether Dougherty’s departure was voluntary or involuntary.

Rigali arrives with more than 25 years of experience in education, including teacher, principal, special-education administrator and district-level leader.

She’s also familiar with the Catholic high school since she is a parent of multiple graduates from the school for ninth- through 12th-graders.

“What makes Mrs. Rigali’s appointment especially meaningful is her deep and personal connection to our Catholic school community in Santa Maria,” Ronan wrote to the school community. 

“She is a dedicated supporter of Catholic education and a former St. Joseph High School and St. Louis de Montfort School parent, having entrusted her own children to our schools.”

Rigali previously served on the St. Joseph High School advisory board. 

“Mrs. Rigali approaches this role not simply as a professional responsibility, but as a vocation of service,” Ronan wrote. “Her commitment to servant leadership, her faith-driven perspective, and her desire to provide stability, transparency and unity will be invaluable as she leads the school at this pivotal moment.”

The 2026-27 school year begins with orientation for new students and ninth-graders on Aug. 27 and for returning 10th- through 12th graders on Aug. 28.

The first full day of school for all students will be Aug. 31, while new and returning teachers show up earlier, according to the online calendar.

Santa Barbara Pastoral Region representatives said they expect to launch a search for a permanent principal in the fall, with the goal of having the new person in place by July 1, 2027.

Dougherty, along with Mott, the archdiocese and the school, were named in a civil lawsuit filed in 2024 that is inching its way through the Santa Barbara County Superior Court system. 

Filed by Connie Plata, the lawsuit accused Dougherty of violating labor laws, wrongful termination and more. 

The lawsuit’s fifth amended complaint filed last summer accused Dougherty of asking the then-registrar “to falsely inflate multiple students’ grades, falsely overlook and/or limit student-athlete absences, and falsify official high school records, specifically including but not limited to official transcripts that are reported to the California Interscholastic Federation, as well as colleges and the National Collegiate Athletic Association.” 

A case management conference for the lawsuit is scheduled for Sept. 2 before Judge Jed Beebe.