Six schools across Pajaro Valley Unified School District are welcoming new staff members to the roles of principal and assistant principal.
PVUSD’s governing board approved the promotions and hires on June 11, according to spokesperson Alicia Jimenez. These hires come during a period of public concern over budget and staffing issues in the district.
New principals have been announced for three schools: Katie Kriscunas at E.A. Hall Middle School, Judith Woods at Lakeview Middle School and Carmen Velasquez at Hall District Elementary.
Denise Phipps-Craig, a former teacher at MacQuiddy Elementary, will also be joining the staff at Hall Elementary as the school’s academic coordinator. Jennifer Bacio will join Valencia Elementary in the same role after teaching for over a decade in both Pajaro Valley and Gilroy Unified school districts.
New assistant principals will be coming to Pajaro Valley High School, Watsonville High School and Aptos High School. Aaron Bielenberg is joining Pajaro Valley High School from Aptos High. Terrence Redfern, the district’s past director of mathematics, will bring experience from multiple principal and assistant principal roles to Watsonville High. Eli Swanberg will be leaving Liberty High School in Brentwood for the leadership job at Aptos High with over a decade of experience.
Jimenez will be taking on the job of the district’s community schools leadership coordinator, leaving a vacancy after eight years in the role. The job of district public information officer will soon be open for online applications.
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