News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Rich Shultz, principal at Sisters Middle School, has resigned to take a new job with the local Educational Service District.
Shultz, who has served the Sisters School District for six years, will be the Director of Human Resources for the Crook/Deschutes ESD. In that role, he will handle hiring and personnel development, and also contract with the Crook County School District to manage personnel.
"It came up suddenly," Shultz said of the new position.
The principal has been interested for some time in moving toward an assistant superintendent role in his career, and he views this job as a step in that direction.
According to Shultz, the move is strictly a career step and has nothing to do with Sisters' straitened financial circumstances or dissatisfaction with the middle school.
"I've been very pleased to be in this district," said Shultz, who came to Sisters after a stint in Papua, New Guinea. "We'll stay living in Sisters and my daughter will stay in this school."
The district will likely appoint an interim principal from the current staff, then launch a full-blown principal search next spring.
Shultz sees challenges ahead for his successor.
The middle school population will climb to 300 next year, which is as much as -- or more than -- the old facility can handle.
"We're at the bursting at the seams point with the facility," Shultz said.
Tight finances will also make it difficult to stretch staffing to offer a broad curriculum for the students. The middle school will contract next year with the Sisters Organization for Activities and Recreation to maintain a sports program.
"The challenge there will be to have enough scholarships for those who can't afford it," Shultz said.
For all its difficulty, Shultz has found the job of principal rewarding.
"Constant interaction with kids keeps you on your toes," he said.
Shultz says the move to an autonomous middle school three years ago was a good one.
"It was the right move," he said. "I only hope that in a couple of years from now we can pass a bond to build a new facility."
Shultz sees Sisters as a caring community, strongly supportive of its schools. He thinks the community needs to rally to help find long-term solutions to a broken funding system.
"We need to, as a community, take some of our influence to Salem to improve school financing," he said.
Shultz hopes to remain involved with Sisters schools in an unofficial capacity. He said he will miss the interaction with students and teachers.
"I'm going to miss the kids and I'm going to miss the staff I've worked with for the past six years," he said.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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