Courtney Johnson, the resident principal at Foothill Technology High School, will be absent from the administration in the coming 2026-2027 school year. Her husband is expected to be working at his law firm more often come September, and the expensive nature of child care for their five-year-old daughter, who is entering kindergarten next year, has forced Johnson’s hand. However, this absence is very temporary, and the district is currently hunting for an interim principal, not a replacement. The interim is currently being chosen by the human resources department of Ventura Unified School District, in a process based around teacher, staff and family input.
“I’m super bummed that I’m not going to see the current juniors in their senior year,” Johnson said.
Johnson says the prospect of a gap in her attendance has lately been giving her FOMO – or Fear Of Missing Out. While she is only in her second year as the head of Foothill Tech, she has already been planning a vision for the future of the school, and is sad she won’t be a part of that next year.
One of Johnson’s ideas is the creation of a new pathway sometime in the future. This pathway will ideally partner with Blue Robotics and focus on Foothill Tech’s neighboring ocean and maybe even send students on field trips to the Channel Islands.
However, progress will not be paused in Johnson’s absence. She has informed her assistant principals of her ambitions, and they will continue the process without her with the assistance of the appointed interim candidate.
The role of principal is like “running a company really,” Johnson says, “everything that goes into running a school comes across my desk.”
From laying out budgets to investigating incidents on campus, the principal does it all. With the help of her assistant principals and the rest of the administration, Johnson delegates and presides over the happenings and processes of Foothill Tech.
Despite the necessary nature of this role, Frank Davis, one of Johnson’s assistant principals, is confident about the coming year.
“Obviously, she’s a vital piece here, but we’ve been prepping for this, and Mrs. Tedford and myself are making all of the arrangements,” Davis says. “I’m sure we’re going to have someone that’s going to be fully competent to help us out.”
Johnson sees the coming years as defining for Foothill Tech. However, she is not worried about the break in her attendance when it comes to achieving her vision for the school.
“It’s only a year,” Johnson says, “and an identity is not carved out in a year.”
