Crowley to serve as interim school superintendent

West Valley School District Assistant Superintendent Polly Crowley will serve as interim superintendent from January to June of next year. The school board named Crowley to that post during its meeting Wednesday.

Superintendent Dave Smith announced last month that he will step down as superintendent in January. Smith will manage the high school’s renovation project.

Crowley has been West Valley’s assistant superintendent since September 2000. She previously worked as a vice principal at West Valley High School and as a principal in the Central Valley School District. Crowley taught math, science and other subjects in various districts and at community colleges before coming to Spokane Valley. She holds a doctoral degree in instructional leadership from Gonzaga University.

The board will lay out a plan for hiring a permanent superintendent this winter, Smith said. It will need to fill that position by July 1, 2005, he said.