The Pendleton School District will recommend that the board approve Doug Gunter to be the new assistant principal/athletic director of Sunridge Middle School, effective July 1, 2025.

With the recent announcement that Sunridge will have a vacancy for an assistant principal, the district decided to draw from the strong applicant pool of principal applicants to fill this position for the 2025-2026 school year.

The position of assistant principal/athletic director was offered to Doug Gunter, and he has accepted. Doug was a finalist in our recent SMS principal search, and he comes highly recommended by his colleagues and current supervisor.

Mr. Gunter has been a teacher and executive director at Jane Goodall Environmental Middle School for the past 12 years in the Salem-Keizer School District, and taught at Adam Stephens Middle School before that, also in Salem-Keizer. We’re excited to have him join the SMS team, the Pendleton School District, and the Pendleton Community.

Mr. Gunter will officially take over as assistant principal/athletic director on July 1st. He is replacing Caleb Patterson as he has accepted a position in La Grande.