PENDLETON — With the hiring of two new principals at Washington and McKay Creek elementary schools, the administrative shuffle at the Pendleton School District is complete.

At a Monday, April 26, Pendleton School Board meeting, the board approved the hirings of J.P. Richards and Sherri Kilgore to fill the district’s two principal vacancies.

Richards will take over at Washington, where Principal Aimee VanNice is resigning to become the human resources director at the InterMountain Education Service District.

According to a district press release, Richards has spent the past two years as the principal of Bear Creek Elementary School in Bend, a dual immersion school with more than 600 students. A former Spanish and English teacher, Richards has 12 years of building principal experience at both the elementary and middle school levels.

“Mr. Richards has successfully turned around two low-performing schools in two different districts,” Pendleton Superintendent Chris Fritsch said in a statement. “He comes to Pendleton with a reputation as a collaborative leader who excels in team building and a focus on raising achievement for all students.”

Kilgore also brings many years of administrative experience to McKay Creek while also offering some familiarity.

She has spent 17 years as the K-12 principal of Joseph Charter School in Wallowa County, but previously worked as a teacher at Pendleton High School and Sunridge Middle School.

“Mrs. Kilgore comes to us a proven building administrator,” Fritsch said. “Her collaborative leadership and ‘students first’ attitude will be a good fit at McKay Creek.”

Kilgore will replace Principal Lorena Woods, who accepted a job as a high school success coach and multiple subjects teacher with the Stanfield School District.

Both Kilgore and Richards will begin working their new positions on July 1.