UPDATE: Assistant Principal Explains Decision to Leave MVHS

By July 1, Mission Viejo High School Assistant Principal Kevin Biggs will be working for an Iowa school district, he confirmed Tuesday.

“It was really a family decision,” Biggs said. His wife was born and raised in the Des Moines area, and their family wanted to resettle closer to extended family before his 5-year-old son starts kindergarten in the fall, he said.

Biggs has been named the new Director of Athletics and Activities for the Ankeny School District in Iowa. Biggs currently directs athletics for MVHS.

"Mr. Biggs possesses the vision and leadership needed," Ankeny Superintendent Matthew Wendt, said.　"Mr. Biggs' experiences and successes made him uniquely qualified for this position.　 I’m very confident we found the right person, and I am pleased that our first offer was accepted."

You can read the full statement here.

“My wife won’t have to work, so she’ll be able to invest her time in our kids’ education, and do all the things we couldn’t do here because we both had to work” to afford to live here, he said. The couple also hope to have more children, he said, making Iowa’s cost of living all the more attractive.

Biggs added that his new job offers exciting challenges, as the growing Ankeny Community Schools district will be opening two new high schools in the next two years.

According to a 2000 census, Ankeny had 27,000 people. A 2009 estimate expects 43,000 live there now.

“I don’t want people to think I’m leaving because of any of my experiences in Saddleback Valley,” Biggs said. “It was because of this district, and the name of Mission Viejo, that got my name in the door for interviews. People across the country know Mission Viejo because of the reputation of the school. It’s just one of those special places.”

Biggs also praised the staff, students and community of MVHS.

MVHS Principal Ray Gatfield said he is sad to lose Biggs, whom he first hired as a teacher at Trabuco Hills High School in 2001.

“He has brought a tremendous amount of innovation to our school,” Gatfield said.

Gatfield noted that it was Biggs who organized the school’s recent National Letter of Intent Signing Day, which recognized 25 students who signed letters of intent to play for major colleges across the country. Gatfield said Biggs has also been key at growing the school’s Diablitos mentoring program which pairs ninth grade students with upperclass students to serve as mentors.

“He’s been an asset to the school, and we hate to see him leave,” Gatfield said. “But we understand. Iowa’s calling.”

MVHS Athletic director Troy Roelen said that right after Biggs came to MVHS he bought into the school’s vision of maintaining a top athletic program. Biggs worked with students to ensure that student athletes do volunteer projects in support of programs like the Pediatric Cancer Research Fund, as well as take supplementary online classes on topics such as the collegiate recruiting process and the dangers of steroid use, Roelen said.

 “He’s a good friend, and he’s very loyal to the school. These days, that’s hard to find,” Roelen said. “He’s always interested in raising the bar and pushing the school to better itself.”

Biggs has been with the Saddleback Valley Unified School District since 2001. Most recently, he has directed the athletic programs at Mission Viejo High School, which have garnered widespread attention due to their nationally ranked teams. Biggs previously led the athletic department at Trabuco Hills High School.

Several search committee members said they were especially attracted to Biggs’ experience in both athletics and the arts. Biggs not only played collegiate baseball, he was vocally trained in Classical Opera and once sung at Carnegie Hall in New York, according to the MVHS website.

Biggs and his wife, a kindergarten teacher in Newport-Mesa, have two sons. He will replace the district’s retiring activities director.