NORTH BEND - When Vince Swagerty became principal of North Bend Middle School, he thought he would stay in the area through retirement.

He bought a house. His family got involved in a church. The kids joined sports teams, and his wife, Valerie, took a job as an educational assistant at Hillcrest Elementary.

But the Swagerty family began pulling up roots Wednesday, moving dining room furniture into a U-Haul trailer as they prepared for a move they never thought they'd have to make.

Swagerty, who moved to the area two years ago, is one of a number of educators being laid off from North Bend schools. He and his family are relocating to Central Oregon, where the 46-year-old will start work Aug. 3 as  Culver High School's principal.

"To pack up and leave, it's hard," Valerie Swagerty said, crying as she helped move belongings.

She said she's probably taking the move the hardest. Daughter Melissa will go to Western Oregon University in the fall. Fifteen-year-old Matt seems OK with attending a new high school. Now that Vince Swagerty has a job, they don't have to worry about making ends meet. Still, Valerie Swagerty said,  "I don't like starting again."

Despite a few tears, the mood was playful on Wednesday. Picking up one end of a hutch, Matt, a blond beanpole, bragged, "Look at these muscles."

"Yeah, skinny boy's got guns," his father teased. Though not nearly as emotional as his wife, Swagerty described the move as bittersweet.

He's looking forward to pursuing his photography hobby in a new landscape. And the family will be closer to Melissa while she's at college. But he said he enjoyed working for the North Bend School District. He also got to lead worship and play in a band for his church, Calvary by the Bay.

"I'm sad to leave," Swagerty said. "I wanted to stay here until that retirement date and be a long-standing fixture in North Bend, but the economy dictated otherwise."Finding a new job was difficult and worrisome, he said.

He applied for 20 jobs, including a few in Coos County, and didn't land the Culver position until last week. In addition to serving as the principal, he'll also be the Culver district's curriculum and assessment coordinator.

While the news seems somewhat sudden, Swagerty said he had known his job was on the chopping block since February, because he had the least tenure among North Bend administrators. Vice Principal Ralph Brooks will take over for him in the fall.

Swagerty explained that no union protects administrators. Because they provide support rather than direct education to students, administrators make an easy target for cuts.

"I know it's part of what they're going through," Valerie Swagerty said. "It's not us."Swagerty said he knew job insecurity could be an issue ever since he became an administrator in the 1990s. He started his career as a social studies teacher at Blanco Junior High in Langlois.

Despite the disruption, Swagerty doesn't regret his time in North Bend.

He said he has helped make a difference in students' lives by instituting a reading intervention program for middle schoolers, he had fun with students and staff members, he got to announce basketball games at the high school, and he'll always have one particularly cherished memory Ð meeting former President Bill Clinton.

Last year, the principal helped coordinate a visit by Clinton, who came to North Bend to support his wife in her bid for the Democratic nomination.

"I never went to work dreading to go to work," Swagerty said. "I just never dreamed I'd get to hang out with a former president of the United States for 15 minutes."

Brooks, who was sad to see Swagerty go, said he learned a lot from the principal, whom he described as caring and easy to get along with.

"He didn't take things too serious when he didn't need to ... you always felt like he was fair with you," Brooks said. "You hate to see anybody leave under those conditions."