Native son returns to steer the ship at Cupertino High

Bill Richter is no stranger to Cupertino. He grew up here, graduated from Cupertino High in 1961, where he was inducted into its Hall of Fame. Richter went on to work for the Fremont Union High School District for 37 years, retiring in 2003 as principal of Lynbrook High School.

Richer will return to his alma mater as interim principal for the first semester of the school year, replacing Cary Matsuoka. Matsuoka was recently named superintendent of the Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District.

"I know Bill really well," said Matsuoka, who worked under Richter for three years as the assistant principal at Lynbrook High.

"We're very good friends, and we're very good professional friends. I am leaving the school in great hands."

Matsuoka says his decision to leave the district had nothing to do with board actions involving former teacher Tim Krieger and ousted Superintendent Stephen Rowley.

"I actually had been weighing my next career step for the past nine months," Matsuoka said. As of February, he had decided to stay on as principal at Cupertino. But in June, the superintendent position at Saratoga-Las Gatos opened, and after some deliberation, he applied.
"It was very quick, but all of my decisions and processes were in place long before the superintendent was fired. The timing is unfortunate, and I would feel worse about leaving at this point in the school year if I knew Bill wasn't coming in."

Richter and Matsuoka will begin their respective positions Oct. 2.
Richter still wants to enjoy his retirement. "I'm going to work four days a week, and I'll have Mondays off, unless I'm needed; then I'll come in," Richter said, adding, "It's the same agreement that I had when I was interim principal at Saratoga High."

As interim principal, Richter will hold the same responsibilities as a full-time principal, excluding the stress and late nights.

"I won't do all the activities that a normal principal would do. I'm not going to chaperone dances; I've done enough dances."

Richter was named Principal of the Year in 2001 by the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce for his leadership and outstanding contributions to Lynbrook High School, including a comprehensive computer laptop program.

"I've been around a while, I know what I'm doing and I follow the physician's code: First, do no harm. When I leave [Cupertino High School], people should be able to say, at least: 'Well, he didn't hurt the school.' "