The Geary County USD 475 Board of Education approved the hiring of Bryan Scruggs, Marlies Gipson and Kenny Upham to principal positions within the district on Tuesday. Scruggs will take over as principal at the Early Childhood Center during the 2024-25 school year. He is currently an instructional coach and academic specialist at Seitz Elementary. During his tenure, Scruggs has also spent time as a kindergarten steering chair and kindergarten task force member in the district. He also taught kindergarten at Ware Elementary from 2005 through 2021.
Gipson will replace Junction City Middle School principal Heather Oentrich, who was recently named Executive Director of Student Support Services for USD 475. She is currently an assistant principal for the Wildcats and has been a staple at JCMS since 2021, having successfully overseen and supervised the JCMS special education students and staff. In her tenure. Gipson, who has served on numerous committees, has worked at Junction City Middle School, Washington Elementary and Seitz Elementary.
In addition, the board of education also approved that Upham, who is currently the Fort Riley Elementary principal, be named principal of the Business, Public Service and Hospitality (BPSH) Academy at Junction City High School. Upham will take over as an academy principal after being principal at both Fort Riley Elementary and Morris Hill Elementary during his tenure in USD 475. He will replace James Neff who is transitioning to the H.D. Karns Innovations Academy as an assistant principal.
Finally, the board of education also approved the hiring of Brianna Little as head girls’ basketball coach at Junction City High School, while Chris Bogenhagen was named the high school’s athletics director after serving as the Blue Jays interim ad during the 2023-24 school year. Little takes over as head coach after being a part of the JCHS girls’ basketball coaching staff last season as an assistant coach. She played college basketball at Savannah State University in Georgia following a storied high school career that saw her collect not only all-state and all-area honors, but also lead Beach High School in Savannah, Ga., to back-to-back state tournament appearances, which included a final four run in 2009 and an elite eight appearance during her final year as a Bulldog.