The Baker School Board approved the hiring of two new administrators during its meeting Thursday, April 21.

Vanessa Haggett will start as principal of the Eagle Cap Innovative Junior/Senior High School, an alternative program within the district, starting in the fall.

Mark Witty, Baker School District superintendent, said Haggett “really impressed the interview panel. We’re enthusiastic about the future of Eagle Cap Innovative Junior/Senior High School under her leadership.”

Haggett has been a teacher since 2009. She has worked since 2019 for Paisley Public Charter School in Lake County, where she is head teacher and a science teacher. As head teacher, her duties are comparable to those of vice principal, including helping with administrative needs, school discipline, and as a substitute for the superintendent/principal.

“I want to make a difference,” Haggett said in a press release. “I look forward to helping students succeed in creative and practical ways and supporting teachers to do their best work. The flexibility of an Eagle Cap Innovative Junior/Senior High School education is so exciting, offering students in-person and online learning opportunities, along with career and technical education at the middle and high school levels.”

Haggett’s annual salary is $92,328.

Financial officer

The board also approved hiring Regina Sampson as the district’s chief financial officer and business manager.

“We are so fortunate to have Ms. Sampson joining our team,” Witty said. “She has over 20 years of accounting experience in both the public and private sectors, with particular expertise regarding financial management within the Oregon public school system.”

Sampson comes to Baker City from the Reynolds School District in Fairview, east of Portland, where she started in 2011 and progressed to director of financial services for the Reynolds District, which has 16 schools and a $270 million annual budget.

Earlier, Sampson worked as an accountant for Columbia Gorge Community College in The Dalles.

“I look forward to joining the Baker School District finance team and making a significant contribution toward achieving the District’s goals and objectives,” Sampson said in the press release.

Sampson’s annual salary is $137,202.