Santa Maria High School has a new principal, but the face and name will be familiar to students and staff.
Interim Principal Steve Campbell was appointed to the job after filling the role temporarily since April 2019 following the departure of then-Principal Joe Domingues.
During the district’s school board meeting Tuesday night, Santa Maria Joint Union High School District Superintendent Antonio Garcia said the search involved internal and external candidates with two levels of interviews before the selection of Campbell.
In all, 15 people applied for the job, district officials said.
“He was clearly the top candidate in our process,” Garcia said, praising Campbell for the job he did while serving as interim principal.
“We’ve got a good plan, and we’ve been working on it already for several years at Santa Maria High School,” Campbell said.
He has spent six years as assistant principal focused on special programs as well as curriculum and instruction matters.
Campbell said he looks forward to working with the staff to continue good things going on at the campus.
“I’m very excited to be in a perfect spot. I’m very excited to be the principal of the school, and excited to get back to it and continue a lot of the great things we’ve been working on over the last several years,” Campbell said. “I’m super excited to be here and anxious to get rolling.”
Previously, the educator worked as a physics teacher in Colorado, as dean of students at Morro Bay High School and as director of special projects for the Paso Robles Joint Unified School District.
Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum John Davis also noted the job that Campbell did while serving as interim principal during difficult times.
“A big pat on the back, and I know all the good work you’re going to do in the coming years,” Davis said. “Thanks for being here for our district and our kids, Steve.”
Domingues, the prior principal and a graduate of the high school, cited “personal health matters” for his resignation in September.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.