Union-Bulletin

WALLA WALLA -- New leadership will be in place at Walla Walla High School starting this fall.

The Walla Walla School Board on Thursday approved administrative changes and hires that will bring changes.

Wa-Hi Assistant Principal Kirk Jameson will move to the district's technology department in the main administrative offices. Jameson's new job includes being technical education director, director of assessment and technology and skills planning director.

Ron Higgins, who had held the job of technology and assessment director, will move to Wa-Hi as an assistant principal this fall.

And Don Wilkins, the district's longtime athletic director and also an assistant principal, will move out of the administrative role and work solely coordinating district athletics.

The restructuring comes not long after the School Board named Wa-Hi Assistant Principal Mira Gobel as the new principal of Pioneer Middle School.

Because of her departure and Wilkins' move to the athletic department, the board also approved the hiring of Stacy Estes and Mark Pickel to be assistant principals at Wa-Hi.

Estes comes to Wa-Hi after spending nine years as an assistant principal at McLoughlin Middle School in Pasco. Estes is also an adjunct professor at Washington State University, Tri-Cities.

Pickel has been an assistant principal at Kamiakin High School since 2004. Before becoming an administrator, he taught high school math for 14 years at Kennewick High.

Wa-Hi's new administrative team is led by Principal Pete Peterson and maintains four assistant principal positions that also include Assistant Principal Mindy Meyer.