Just a few months after his recent promotion to the C-suite of the William S. Hart Union High School District’s office, the governing board gave Sal Frias another recognition Wednesday.
The gymnasium at Golden Valley High School, where he worked for 20 years, is being named in his honor.
The district governing board approved the move unanimously Wednesday.
Frias joined the Hart district in 2002 as an assistant principal at Sierra Vista Junior High School.
He served as assistant principal at Canyon and Golden Valley high schools before becoming principal of Golden Valley.
He served in that role for 17 years, according to district officials, who said in that time, the school went through four successful Western Association of Schools and Colleges accreditations.
In a district news release announcing Frias’ promotion to chief administrative officer in July, it also mentioned he has won several awards for his leadership of the campus.
“I’m a recent graduate at Golden Valley, and if there’s anybody who makes it hard to leave Golden Valley, it’s definitely Mr. Frias,” said Brooke Saavedra, a member of the class of 2024 who teared up describing how much Frias cares. “He was one of the many administrators and teachers I had the opportunity of working with, and he was always there for his students and he was always there for others.”
On Thursday, Frias said in a phone interview he was still processing everything because he was so surprised by the announcement.
“I’m just so humbly honored and still so speechless,” he said, calling the announcement a complete surprise.
He said he felt blessed to be a part of the district and he was still so overwhelmed.
Being able to have his family there for the recognition is something that made it especially meaningful to him and something he will never forget, he said.
Now, the fun part begins, board President Cherise Moore joked at the end of the hearing: fundraising to make the name recognition a reality with signage that can be seen on campus.
