East Valley superintendent candidate list down to 6

The East Valley School District board has narrowed its superintendent search to six semifinalists. Following preliminary interviews scheduled Monday and Wednesday, the board will select three candidates for final interviews in early March.

Among the six semifinalists is Interim Superintendent Tom Gresch, who was assistant superintendent of general services before he took the interim position. His contract for the interim post, which expires in June, stipulates that he may return to his previous position for the 2015-16 school year.

Other candidates are Monty Sabin, superintendent of Kittitas School District; Marty Brewer, superintendent, Pioneer School District, Shelton, Washington; Kelly Shea, superintendent Sequim School District, Sequim, Washington; Kathryn Orozco, superintendent, Whitefish School District, Whitefish, Montana; and Rick Linehan, superintendent, Chewelah School District.

The board plans to select a superintendent shortly after it holds March 3-5 sessions with the final three candidates. That person will lead a district with over 4,000 students, seven schools, 480 staff members, and an annual operating budget of $44.4 million.

Meanwhile, the school board also is selecting a board member to replace Mike Harris, who gave his resignation at the Jan. 13 meeting. Harris served seven years and was the last longtime member on the five-person board following Mitch Jensen’s resignation in October.

In December, the board appointed Todd Weger, an employee benefits insurance specialist, to replace Jensen. Weger, who has four children in the district, joined Justin Voelker, Fred Helms and Mike Novakovich, who were all voted into office in November 2013. The following February, the board and former Superintendent John Glenewinkel agreed to part ways.

The district has had a number of transitions in the past two years. The 2013-14 school year was the first full year of implementing a K-8 model, which the board by March voted to dismantle. Parents complained about boarded-up facilities and no lockers for older students, and public meetings drew discussions about whether to keep K-8 or move forward with a middle school again.

East Valley Middle School, at 4920 N. Progress Road, opened again to seventh- and eighth-graders in the fall.

Last April, the board selected Northwest Leadership Associates of Liberty Lake to lead the search for a new superintendent, but asked that it wait until a few months ago to start as a better time to find candidates. The search firm initially presented many candidates, said Voelker, EVSD board president.

“We did throw a nationwide net, and we did get candidates from places like Texas and Minnesota,” Voelker said. “Over 20 candidates initially were presented to us. We narrowed it to six based on their qualifications.”

The preliminary interviews of the six candidates Monday and Wednesday are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. in the East Valley High School Library and are open to the public. Voelker said the interviews will involve a 12-member panel of community residents and a 12-member staff group.

“We want their feedback,” Voelker said. “They’ll be at the preliminary and final interviews.”

After the interviews, the board is scheduled to decide in executive session Wednesday which three candidates will return for final interviews March 3-5.

“Our goal with the search is to find the right candidate to be an exceptional leader focused on the educational, cultural and economic aspects or our school district,” Voelker said.

Regarding a new board member to replace Harris, only one person submitted an application by a Feb. 12 deadline. That applicant is Laura Gates, who listed her occupation as senior buyer for Providence Health & Services.

The board is scheduled to interview Gates at 5 p.m. on Tuesday just before its regular business meeting to consider her appointment, Voelker said.

In his resignation letter, Jensen objected to the board’s decision to reverse the implementation of a K-8 model, saying it was done without study.

Voelker said Harris didn’t provide a reason for his resignation. Calls to a number listed for Harris went to voicemail without an option to leave a message.