At the School Board meeting held on March 10, 2020, the Ventura Unified School District (Ventura Unified) announced that Russell Gibbs will be Foothill Technology High School’s (FTHS), next Principal.

Gibbs has worked 12 years as a public educator; working as a journalism advisor for two years at Grant Community High School, an English teacher at Ace Charter High School and Rancho Campana High School (RCHS), drama chair as well as 2016 teacher of the year at RCHS, and Assistant Principal at Hueneme High School. 

“Mr. Gibbs brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise with him. We are excited for him to start this new chapter in his career and build upon the excellent work that Mr. Bova provided to Foothill. Mr. Gibbs will begin his new role on July 1, 2020,” Superintendent Roger Rice said in an email addressing Ventura Unified.

After former Principal Joe Bova accepted a new position in the District, Ventura Unified opened up the process for selecting the replacement Principal at FTHS. This process consisted of three rounds: a paper screen, an interview in front of a selected panel and a final interview with a smaller group of Ventura Unified Officials, including Rice. 

“The board was really excited to see that the panel that selected [Gibbs] as the new Principal was really diverse and included student voice and staff voice. It was really a great process,” School Board President Sabrena Rodriguez said.

Gibbs will be present at the next School Board meeting on March 24, 2020.