Jewell superintendent hired to lead Newberg Public Schools
May 11—JEWELL — Steve Phillips, the superintendent of the Jewell School District who is on paid administrative leave pending an investigation, has been selected to fill the same role in Newberg.
At a meeting Tuesday, the school board at Newberg Public Schools announced Phillips as the school district's next superintendent. The board voted 5 to 2, authorizing the board chair to negotiate a contract with Phillips.
He will take on the role as soon as possible, pending contract negotiations, the school district said.
Phillips was announced as one of three finalists for the position in April. The school board conducted three rounds of interviews with candidates and held a meet-and-greet with students, staff and the community, the school district said.
Raquel Peregrino de Brito, a school board member in Newberg who voted to approve hiring Phillips, cited his past experience as a superintendent in her decision.
"We are looking forward to working with Dr. Phillips ... with the high expectation that the focus is on the improvement of academics," Peregrino de Brito, who was appointed to the school board in April, told The Astorian.
Peregrino de Brito said that she and another school board member traveled to Jewell to speak with school staff about Phillips and the investigation.
"Not knowing detailed information — it's very difficult without knowing the full extent of what happened to make a judgment," she said, adding that much of what she heard were rumors.
Prior to the Newberg school board's decision on Tuesday, many public comments read by the board encouraged hiring Phillips, with a few in strong opposition.
Representatives from the Jewell School District could not immediately be reached for comment.
Phillips was placed on administrative leave in Jewell in February and an investigation began shortly after. The rural school district, which serves students kindergarten-through-12th grade, hired an acting superintendent in March to finish the school year.
The school district has declined to disclose the reasons for the administrative leave or the investigation.
Phillips was brought on in Jewell in 2018, eventually being appointed superintendent in 2019.
His tenure in Jewell followed his resignation from his position as deputy superintendent in the Beaverton School District after receiving blowback for reposting a tweet that expressed anti-immigration sentiments.
He served as superintendent and director of secondary education in the Malheur Education Service District prior to his time in Beaverton.
