At a closed meeting on Saturday morning, the school board revisited its decision earlier in the year to support the request of outgoing Superintendent Barbara Young to replace Sonoma Valley High School Principal Micaela Philpot. When Philpot had announced her resignation 10 days ago, the general reaction among parents and staff was disbelief. The Sonoma Valley High School Boosters Club, which had funded all high school sports and extracurricular activities for the last three years while the school district wrestled with its finances, voted to ask the school board to direct Young to keep Philpot in place.
Dozens of speakers at the board’s public meeting on Tuesday evening made the same request. Apparently, the trustees heard the message. In a press release following the Saturday meeting, board president Cam Hawing announced:
We concur that it would be appropriate for the new superintendent to evaluate conditions at the high school and take appropriate action. Therefore, the superintendent is withdrawing acceptance of Micaela Philpot’s resignation.
Philpot, reached by phone following the decision, expressed excitement about staying on. She noted that it takes good people “to listen to dissent and to change their minds.” She thanked the community for raising concerns “in a way that left room for forgiveness.” Recognizing that there are concerns about the high school, Philpot felt her reinstatement provides “a perfect opportunity to sit down with the superintendent and the board to see what they want at the high school.”
“My staff and I,” Philpot said, “are ready to roll up our sleeves and work together to make the high school the best it can be. I couldn’t ask for a better community to do it in.”
