Benny Westcott
The Sweet Home School Board unanimously approved the hire of Lisa Riggs as the district’s new superintendent at a special meeting Monday, Aug. 16.
Riggs has been the assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction for the Gresham-Barlow School District since 2018. From 2015 to 2018, she held a similar position for the San Antonio (Texas) Independent School District.
She has two master’s degrees in educational leadership and curriculum and instruction from University of Victoria (B.C.) and Seattle City University (Wash.), respectively. She is currently working on her doctoral degree in educational leadership from San Diego State University (Calif.).
Board Chair Jason Redick said that the hire “really had to do with her level of knowledge. She came in and learned the district, and where we were at. She really got involved, prior to even any of the interviews, with learning what Sweet Home was about, not just the school system, but Sweet Home as a whole.”
“Being the fairly tight-knit community that Sweet Home is, you want somebody that’s going to be here, be involved, and take a look at the community and say, ‘I want to be a part of that,'” Redick said. “Beyond being the best candidate for the position, she really had a desire to be a part of the community.”
Redick said he thought all three of the superintendent finalist candidates did great at the community meet and greet held at Sweet Home High School on Aug. 10.
“The benefit for the board was that we had a lot more time to spend with them, so our decision wasn’t based on a short window,” he noted.
He said that it was difficult to hire a new superintendent “inside of 60 days” from the notice that former superintendent Tom Yahraes was leaving the district.
“It took a lot of time, dedication and investment from the board,” he said. “But I’m happy that we put it together, and I truly think that a longer process wouldn’t have gotten us a better superintendent.”
School Board Secretary Debra Brown said Riggs’ resume was “super impressive, and we called her references and found out that she lived up to her resume.”
Brown noted how when Riggs worked for the San Antonio Independent School District as a deputy superintendent, she was assigned with the task of bringing the district’s grades up. The district went from an F to a B rating in 2½ years while Riggs was in the position.
“You have to be able to work with people to do that, and get people on board with your vision,” Brown said. “She was able to do that.”
In other board action, Kevin Hill, currently pastor at Holley Church, was sworn in as the new school board member for Position 3 at Foster.
His appointment was approved unanimously by the board.