With board director Robin Henrikson’s resignation, the Sequim School District’s Board of Directors is looking to appoint the director vacancy.
Applications for the appointed board position will be accepted until 4 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 5.
The four remaining Board of Directors will interview candidates on Monday, Sept. 9, during the regular board meeting that starts at 6 p.m., and the appointee will be sworn in at a board meeting on Oct. 7.
Application packets are available at the district office between 8 a.m.-3 p.m., Monday through Thursday.
Candidates must live in District 1 within the school district’s boundaries — roughly the western half of the district including Carlsborg and Agnew, extending from the Dungeness Recreation area and shoreline north to the Olympic National Park boundary to the south.
The term ends November 2019.
Candidates may be asked during the interview process to give a biographical sketch of themselves (training, interests, experience on policy boards, community/school activities, etc.), what they perceive as major strengths and shortcomings of the district, to describe how their “experience, training and interest can contribute to the improvement of the district,” and to identify any commitments that may prevent them from attending regular meetings and workshops.
According to a board director candidate application packet, the board is “to determine a vision for the educational program; design a structure to achieve that vision; assure that the schools are accountable to the community; and advocate for continuous improvement in student learning” and that “while many have had a hand in shaping our school system, the Sequim Board of Directors must ultimately answer to the community and the State Superintendent of Public Instruction on issues related to local programs. The Board selects a superintendent to administer adopted policies; however, the Board is the final authority on all matters concerning the district.”
Regular board meetings are normally held at 6 p.m. the first and third Mondays of each month during the school year, with the exception being official holidays. Board directors also meet for special sessions as needed.
For more information, contact Trayce Norman at 360-582-3262 or tnorman@sequimschools.org.
Resignation
Henrikson, who submitted her resignation letter on July 18, stating her desire to allow the board to have an easier transition process with a new superintendent, declined to run for reelection to retain her board director position in the General Election this November.
Lawrence (Larry) Jeffryes filed to fill the Director 1 position and will appear on the Nov. 5 ballot. Jerry Mote also filed in May as a write-in candidate but his name won’t appear on the ballot.
Henrikson is an adjunct professor at Seattle Pacific University and previously served as the president of the board.
In her resignation letter, Henrikson expressed a desire to have a declared and unopposed candidate for the school board election in November take her seat to speed up their process of getting up to speed with being a board member.
“I think appointing a candidate who is running for my current District One position now makes a lot of sense rather than waiting for a more difficult transition in December,” Henrikson wrote.
Instead, per the recommendation of interim superintendent Rob Clark and agreed to by a unanimous vote of the board, the school district will accept applications of people interested in holding the seat on an interim basis.
In other school board races in November, incumbent Jim Stoffer looks to keep his Director 3 position as he faces off against challenger Beth Smithson, while Eric A. Pickens and Charles W. Smith III vie for the Director 5 (at-large) position to be left vacant by Heather Short, who declined to run for re-election.
