Higley USD to use search firm to find next superintendent

By Tom Blodgett
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Twitter: @sp_blodgett

The Higley Unified School District Governing Board will use an outside search firm to find the district’s next superintendent. 

In the meantime, the board appointed Associate Superintendent Sherry Richards is to be the interim superintendent for the coming school year. 

The board unanimously approved Richards’ contract and announced the use of a search firm at its June 28 meeting.  

The administration outlined the search in an email to district employees. 

“The goal of the agency will be to bring valuable expertise and resources to the process, ensuring that we attract highly qualified candidates who align with our district's core values, vision, and goals,” the email read. “The Governing Board is committed to conducting a thorough search and selecting the best candidate to lead our district into the future.” 

The board also congratulated Richards at its June 28 meeting.  

“We appreciate her very much,” President Tiffany Shultz said. “Her commitment to the students and the district and our teachers and stepping forward at this time, we are confident in you, and we appreciate you during this transition.” 

Richards has served as associate superintendent for the past year following four years as the district’s executive director for elementary education. She joined the district in 2011 as an elementary school principal.   

The position became open when Dawn Foley’s resignation, effective June 30, was accepted by the governing board at a special meeting June 6. 

Tom Blodgett
Senior News Editor | Gilbert
@sp_blodgett

tblodgett@iniusa.org

Meet Tom
Tom Blodgett joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2022, when the company acquired Community Impact Newspaper's Phoenix-area properties. Raised in Arizona, he has spent more than 35 years in journalism in the state.

Community: He has served as an instructional professional in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication since 2005, and is editorial adviser to The State Press, the university's independent student media outlet. He also is director of operations for an 18U girls fastpitch softball team from Gilbert.

Education: Arizona State University with a BS in Journalism. 

Random Fact: He lived in Belgium during his freshman year of high school.  

Hobbies: Tweeting enthusiastically about ASU softball (season-ticket holder) and grumpily about other local sports (pessimistic fan).