In the end, Sequim’s next superintendent was just down the hall.
On Monday evening, Sequim’s School Board of Directors agreed to promote Gary Neal from assistant superintendent to the district’s superintendent position on an interim basis.
Neal, who’s been second-in-line behind outgoing superintendent Kelly Shea, originally applied for the superintendent position but was not named among the finalists early last week.
On Monday night, that hardly seemed to matter.
“Quite humbling,” Neal said Monday following the announcement. “I was ready for this journey two weeks ago. It’s OK that it worked out this way.”
Following a weeks-long process of accepting applications, culling a semifinal “short list,” selecting three finalists — one of which dropped out two days before a final interview — and finally electing not to make an offer to either remaining candidate, the board of directors selected Neal to lead the district.
Assuming Neal accepts terms and conditions for the one-year interim position, he’ll officially start the job July 1.
“This is the best direction we can take to keep things going forward,” board president Bev Horan said. “All the qualities are there (in Neal).”
Neal steps in for Kelly Shea, who accepted a job with the East Valley (Spokane) School District and also will start that job on July 1.
Neal said he plans on pushing for the school construction bond in Sequim. A $46 million proposal garnered more than 57 percent of the vote in February but fell short of the required 60 percent to earn approval.
“If we stop now, we’ll lose a lot of that energy,” Neal said.
Overseeing Sequim schools’ curriculum, instruction, assessment and technology programs, Neal said he was interested in the assistant superintendent position in Sequim a year ago in part because of Shea’s leadership.
“Kelly and I … are from the same cloth. We’re both down to earth and want to do what’s right for each kid,” Neal said. “My inner circle (back then) told me, ‘You’ll love this guy.’ They were spot on. I appreciate the autonomy he gave for me handling teaching and learning.”
Neal was principal of West Valley High School in Spokane from 2006-2014. He has a superintendent’s certificate from Washington State University, a master’s degree in administration and curriculum from Gonzaga University, continuing elementary and secondary teacher certification from Eastern Washington University and a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education from Washington State University.
About 10 years ago, a job opened up for an assistant principal position with West Valley High School in Spokane, a school with a slightly smaller enrollment than Sequim High. Halfway through his first year, West Valley’s interim superintendent was named superintendent and West Valley High’s principal was named assistant superintendent, and as the dominos fell, Neal found himself a high school principal just five months after taking the subordinate position. He led West Valley High’s Eagles for nine years.
On Monday night, Neal said the Sequim board’s decision was similar to his advancement at West Valley.
“I feel like I did when I was announced principal of the high school,” he said.
No stranger to the Sequim area, Neal’s father lived in Sequim for 20 years and his sister, Pat Quinet, teaches third grade at Greywolf Elementary School.
Horan said the district had at least three options: 1) look at the credentials and work of candidates within the district and make a decision in executive session; 2) open up the job to internal candidates and do complete interviews with a hire coming at a later date; or 3) look outside the district, using services of the search firm McPherson & Jacobson LLC to perform a modified search for an interim superintendent.
The board chose the latter option, with a unanimous 4-0 vote coming Monday following executive session; board vice president Heather Jeffers was absent.
Finalists don’t make cut
In a similarly unanimous vote on May 14, Sequim School’s board of directors voted to decline offering contract to the two finalists for the district’s open superintendent position.
Finalists were Dr. Sheldon Berman, superintendent of Eugene School District 4J in Eugene, Ore., and Dr. Joe Potts, principal at Kentlake High School in Kent. Heather Davis Schmidt, executive regional director for Missoula Public Schools in Missoula, Mont., was considered a finalist but pulled out of the running after she was offered the superintendent position with the Whitefish School District (Whitefish, Mont.).
The board conducted day-long interviews with Berman on May 12 and Potts on May 13, but board members agreed by May 14 that neither should be Sequim’s next top administrator.
“I don’t think either candidate seemed to be a fit that Sequim needed,” board director John Bridge said.
“This was an incredibly tough choice (but) it became obvious neither was a good fit,” director Mike Howe said.
Horan, the board president, said that while the board didn’t find a clear choice for superintendent, that the process wasn’t wasted effort and time.
“I really see this caused some growth in our board, to know there’s some work to be done here, and it helped (newer board members) to know the process,” she said.
Horan added, “This was not done quickly; this was not rushed. We had 24 applicants for this position. That says a tremendous amount about Sequim.”
The school district signed a $9,000 contract with McPherson & Jacobson LLC to advertise for and cull through applications for top candidates. Board members were given all completed applications to study and rank, discussed during an executive session on May 4. Board members then developed a “short list” of five semifinalists and, along with a panel of as many as 12 observers from school and community circles, interviewed each on May 11.
A school superintendent for nearly two decades, Berman has led both larger and smaller school districts. He served as superintendent of Jefferson County Public Schools in Louisville, Ky., from 2007-2011 and for the previous 14 years, Berman served as superintendent of the Hudson Public Schools, a district of about 3,000 students outside of Boston, Mass. Berman holds a Doctor of Education and a Master of Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, a Master of Education degree from the University of Maine and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin.
“My wife fell in love with this community (so) when she saw the posting for this, she said, ‘You have to apply for this,’” Berman said in a public forum in Sequim last week. “You have a lot to appreciate here.”
Berman said if hired, Sequim likely would be his last job.
“I think I have one more in me,” Berman said. “I’m not on the road to make a name for myself for the next district and move on.”
Potts, principal at Kentlake for the past five years, previously served as an assistant principal at Kentwood High for several years and has lived in Kent for about a decade. A 28-year veteran of the education field, he holds a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Iowa.
“Your school district could be spectacular if you improve your facilities,” Potts said at a public forum last week in Sequim. “It will attract people to your community.”
Potts said he’s wanted to be a superintendent for the past 10 years and that he’d be an active administrator.
“I’m not a guy to answer e-mails all day,” Potts said. “My strengths are working with the schools and the community. I’m in the community a lot. That’s just my nature.”
Schmidt was executive regional director for Missoula Public Schools for about four years before taking the administrative job in Whitefish. She also was an adjunct professor (curriculum and instruction) at the University of Montana.
Other board action
The Sequim School District had a busy May 18 meeting. Board directors voted to, among other items:
• accept letters of resignation from Julie and Victor Lancheros, Sequim High School girls soccer co-head coaches, from their coaching positions
• accept letters of resignation from: Tammy Owens, teacher at Greywolf Elementary School; Emily Breithaupt, Sequim High School floral design teacher and Jeff Stroh, Sequim Middle School head football coach
• approve an agreement with the Olympic Educational Service District 114 to provide technical assistance, professional development opportunities and purchase safety equipment and supplies
• accept the donation of 287 white vinyl lawn chairs, with an approximate value of $2,836, from the Rotary Club of Sequim
• approved overnight travel request for high school ASB officers to attend the Ramblewood Officer Retreat on June 5-6 at Ramblewood and for ASB Leadership students to participate in an overnight Leadership “Lock In” at Sequim High School on Aug. 25
• heard a proposal for a district wellness program
• heard a legislative update, all-day kindergarten readiness report and audit report from business manager Brian Lewis.
