WV principal named assistant superintendent
Gene Sementi was named assistant superintendent of the West Valley School District by its board of directors Wednesday night.
Sementi, 46, replaces Polly Crowley, who was hired as the superintendent last month.
Sementi has been the principal of West Valley High School for one year, after four years as principal at Centennial Middle School.
He has been with the district for 16 years, having also been the assistant principal and a teacher at Centennial, and a principal at Orchard Center Elementary School.
“I really like working in West Valley, but I was ready to make the move and I was really hopeful that I would have the chance to do that here,” Sementi said.
“I’m so thankful that I will have the opportunity to do that.”
Doug Matson, the district’s current assistant superintendent, was promoted to deputy superintendent.
Sementi will finish the year as principal at the high school before moving over to administration.
His contract as assistant superintendent begins July 1.
The promotion means there are two openings for principals in the district of 3,500 students.
Centennial Middle School Principal Tim Ames announced two weeks ago that he accepted a job as superintendent of the Wellpinit School District, located on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Stevens County.
Remodeling project
In other business, the school board unanimously approved a request to begin the bidding process on the first phase of the West Valley High School remodeling project.
Voters approved $35 million to pay for the remodel in May.
The first phase includes surfacing two parking lots, the relocation of two tennis courts and surfacing an area of the soccer field, which eventually will house portables to be used by students during the other phases of the remodel.
Utility work, including work to the sewer and power lines, will also be completed in phase one.
Architects hope to have a bid to present to the board at its April 27 meeting and would like to begin construction on May 1.
Work on the high school building itself will likely begin in October.
The entire project is scheduled to be done in four phases, for completion in September 2007.