Sequim School District will see two new faces in its administration as of July 1.
The District’s board of directors approved hiring one principal at Helen Haller Elementary and another at Sequim High School at the July 16 board meeting.
The board approved Shelley Jefferson of Bellingham Public Schools as the new assistant principal at Helen Haller and Kristi Queen of Mukilteo Schools as the assistant principal at Sequim High School. Jefferson will fill the assistant principal position vacated by Allyson Cundiff and Queen will replace Tom Anderson and Mary Ann Unger who split the position as interim assistant principals.
Jefferson has one year of administrative experience and six years of teaching experience. Her compensation will range between $91,396 to $95,107, district officials said in an email. Queen has 11 years of administrative experience and five years of teaching and her pay will range from $101,567 to $105,691.
Strategic Plan
Board directors also approved the vision, mission and goals of the district’s five year strategic plan from 2018-2023. These approvals cover phase I of the strategic plan and school officials are still working on establishing phase II, which covers the objectives and strategies of the plan and phase III, which outlines the implementation of the plan.
The district’s vision of the plan states, “our community inspires and prepares each student to thrive” and the mission says, “In connection with our community, the Sequim School District empowers staff to inspire hope and provide flexible, innovative learning opportunities in a safe and respectful environment, so each student thrives.”
The district is entering into the third phase of the plan’s timeline from the 2018-2019 school year through the 2022-2023 school year.
Other topics
The board also discussed at first reading a policy that establishes a minimum fund balance for the district each year. Board directors discussed the language of the policy and agreed to make changes to the policy as some of the wording was confusing.
Board directors discussed where the range of the fund balance should fall, with the policy originally stating the fund balance should “target a goal of no less than five percent and no less than 10 percent or higher of the current year’s expenditures to address potential general fund needs and to continue to maintain an acceptable and adequate minimum fund balance for district operations.”
Director Robin Henrikson said “10 percent or higher” leaves room for interpretation and she suggested to have the wording provide a more definitive value.
The board agreed to amend the policy to make the wording and values more clear and it will go to a second reading at the next board meeting.
Acknowledgments
The board gave Sequim School District approval to designate Clallam County as a “Coast Guard Community.”
The district also received an “outstanding” on its annual Washington State Patrol inspection of its school buses for the second year in a row. State Superintendent Chris Reykdal sent a letter of congratulations to Sequim Schools Superintendent Gary Neal.
