The Santa Ynez Valley Union High School District once again has two people filling the jobs of superintendent and principal.

With Kimberly Sheehan handling superintendent duties, Victoria Martinez has been named the principal, while Jasmine Day and Kelley Carter will continue in their current roles of assistant principals.

Historically handled by separate people, the district’s board combined the roles of superintendent and principal to better align leadership goals and vision two years as they searched for a new leader.

After being hired in April 2024 and starting in the summer, Sheehan took the helm of the district, which operates the Santa Ynez Valley Union High School and Refugio, a continuation high school.

Board president Chris Johnson noted that the return to the traditional structure recognized the district’s evolving needs and new responsibilities falling on the superintendent. 

Other state requirements have added to the workload, leading to Martinez fulfilling those principal duties despite them not falling under her job description.

Mark Herthel, the parent of a high-schooler, commended the decisions to merge the jobs initially and now to split them again, commending the leadership team as “it’s been quite the turnaround.”

“I think the team here is working beautifully,” Herthel said. “You feel it as a parent. I think people enjoy coming to work.” 

The new principal has worked in the Santa Ynez Valley Union High School District since 2019, most recently serving as an assistant principal at Santa Ynez Valley Union High School. In that role, she handled the master schedule development, oversaw the Counseling Department and the Health & Wellness Center, provided oversight of the accreditation process, and other duties.

Before that, she served as Refugio High School’s administrator and a teacher on special assignment, where she developed the district’s Independent Study and Online Learning programs.

The high schools’ students come from Santa Ynez Valley’s six feeder districts — Ballard, Buellton, College, Los Olivos, Solvang and Vista del Mar.