Peoria Unified brings aboard 2 new administrators

Peoria Unified School District will begin the new school year with ewo new administrative appointments.

Thomas Sims was appointed as the district's new director of transportation and Samuel Chagolla will serve as interim principal at Peoria High School.

Sims last worjed at Northern Express Bus Service, where he has served as the director of operations, safety and compliance. Prior to that, Sims served as a consultant for the Arizona School Risk and Retention, The Trust, for four years.

During that time, he created a statewide training program for school bus driver trainers and transportation administrator candidates. He also served as a route specialist in the transportation department for the Litchfield Elementary School District.

Chagolla was appointed as interim principal at Peoria High School for 2024-25. Chagolla comes to Peoria High from Marshall Ranch Elementary School in the district where he served as assistant principal for many years.

Chagolla has been an administrator at Ira A. Murphy Elementary, and taught at Sunrise Mountain High School and Peoria High School.

Most notably, Chagolla is an alumnus of Peoria High and a high school wrestling legend who was on a Wheaties box in his Panthers uniform in 1988. He won four state titles earlier in that decade and was named to the National Wrestling Hall of Fame for his career as a wrestler and coach