The Sequim School District board of directors voted 5-0 on Dec. 16 to extend the contract of interim superintendent Rob Clark.

Under the terms of the motion made in the meeting, Clark’s contract would be extended through June 30, 2021, with an option held by the board to extend the contract for another year.

School board president Brandino Gibson said that he plans on bringing a contract proposal to the next board meeting on Jan. 6.

Clark’s contract ends June 30, 2020.

“I appreciate the confidence you have in me,” Clark told the board after their vote. “We have a lot of work to do, but we can get it done.”

Board director Brian Kuh, who proposed the motion to extend Clark’s contract, said that his interactions with Clark have been “extremely favorable,” and that he is “confident to proceed (with extending the contract, and confident in our due diligence.”

This decision comes in the wake of a survey that was sent out to school district staff and parents regarding Clark’s job performance since being hired as the interim superintendent in June. The survey came back with generally positive results, with 61 percent of the 134 survey respondents reporting they are “strongly satisfied” with the progress Clark has made with the district, and 58 percent noting that they “strongly agree” that he’s made progress in moving the district forward.

After the meeting, Gibson said that he was “very happy” with the responses to the survey, and felt confident in the board’s decision to retain Clark as superintendent going forward.

“This isn’t something to take lightly, and I feel that this is a good move for the district’s future,” Gibson said.

Clark indicated several times in recent months that he’s willing to end his career in the Sequim School District, but that would likely come within the next two to three years — a figure that fits with the contract terms proposed by Kuh’s motion.

Given that, new board member and board vice president Eric Pickens said that he “(sees) the value in keeping Clark in place” given the district’s “immediate concerns,” but also wants to make sure that they undertake a “more robust search” for a permanent superintendent when the time is right.

The Monday, Jan. 6 school board meeting is set for 6 p.m. at the district boardroom, 503 N. Sequim Ave.

Other business

• The school board enjoyed a performance from the Haller Elves, a second-grade class from Helen Haller Elementary School that not only sang Christmas carols to the board but signed along with it as well; the group includes a deaf student.

• Greg Roberts of the Olympic Peninsula Sea Hawkers, a Seattle Seahawks fan club, made a proposal to the school board regarding coordinating a reconstruction of the bleachers at the Sequim High School football stadium. The project would require board approval but would be funded by donations and, thanks to the Sea Hawkers connections to the Seattle Seahawks, could in a few wind up with the Seahawks aiding in the replacement of the field itself with a brand-new turf field, according to Roberts. The board was receptive to the idea, and Gibson indicated that they’ll be talking to Roberts about the next steps in the near future.

• The board heard a presentation from Sarah Thorson about the district’s mental health program that is funded by a grant from Clallam County. Using the Jordan Binion Project as their curriculum, which Thorson said was the only data-driven curriculum available, she feels the program has been “very beneficial” to the district. Board directors indicated they would find ways to secure additional grant funding to expand the mental health program.

• A discussion about a first reading for an updated policy on the use of cell phones in school was postponed at the request of Clark, who wants to look more carefully at the issue and talk to school principals about it before bringing the policy back to the board. Clark also said that he wants to use policy issues like this as a launching point in creating a district policy committee.

• The school board unanimously granted a waiver to allow 12 teachers in the district to continue teaching classes that they currently do not have endorsements for. According to assistant superintendent Jennifer Maughan, six of those teachers will be taken off the out-of-endorsement list once the Olympic Peninsula Academy submits paperwork and other outstanding paperwork is completed, while the other six each have plans in place to either secure the needed endorsements or get support to assure that students are getting the best education they can in those classes. “I have no concerns over anyone on this list,” Maughan told the board.