Finalists to be interviewed

The four finalists for the East Valley Superintendent position will begin visiting the district Monday, with each candidate spending a full day in the area meeting with staff, students and the board of directors.

The final four are Glen Szymoniak, assistant superintendent, Kenai Peninsula Borough School District, Soldotna, Alaska; John Glenewinkel, superintendent, Ellensburg School District; Debra Howard, East Valley’s interim superintendent; and Peter Lewis, superintendent, Clarkston School District.

The board received nine applications and executive recruitment and development firm McPherson and Jacobson narrowed the pool to five, said board chairperson Kerri Lunstroth. Of the five, the board decided to invite four for interviews. The district was looking for someone who would be an effective communicator, inspire trust and model high standards of personal and professional integrity, understand the value of a comprehensive curriculum, provide fiscal leadership and articulate a vision for East Valley schools.

“We were looking for somebody that we felt would be a match,” Lunstroth said. “We felt there were four excellent candidates we wanted to interview.”

Szymoniak has been with the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District since 1988 as a teacher, principal and as the assistant superintendent for instruction for the last year, said McPherson and Jacobson representative Bill Dean. He was the assistant superintendent for administrative service for two years before taking his current position. He holds a master’s degree in public school administration from the University of Alaska-Anchorage.

Glenewinkel has been superintendent of the Ellensburg School District since 2005, Dean said. Prior to that was the superintendent in Republic, Wash., from 2001-2005. He was a principal in Shelton, Wash., from 1993 to 2001. He holds a master’s degree in geography from Southwest Texas State and is a candidate for a doctorate in education at Washington State University, Dean said.

Howard has been the district’s interim superintendent since mid-2007. Before that she was the assistant superintendent of operations from 2002-2007 and assistant superintendent of academic support from 1998-2002. Prior to her arrival at East Valley, she was director of special services in Walla Walla from 1993-1998. She holds a doctorate in educational administration from Washington State University and a master’s in speech pathology and audiology from Eastern Washington University. Her early career was spent in special education and working as a speech pathologist.

Lewis has been superintendent of the Clarkston School District since 2003. Before that he was principal of Mt. Spokane High School in Mead from 1998-2003 and principal of Shaw Middle School in Spokane from 1993-1998. He was assistant principal at Glover Middle School from 1987-1993 and a teacher at Libby Middle School from 1982-1987. He holds a master’s in education administration and a bachelor’s degree in history, both from Whitworth University. He is also a doctoral candidate at Washington State University.

Szymoniak will visit the district on Monday, with Glenewinkel scheduled for Wednesday, Howard next Thursday and Lewis on April 11. Each will meet with administrators, teachers, classified staff, students and principals. “We felt it was very important to provide that opportunity to everybody,” Lunstroth said.

A community meeting open to the public will be held from 5:15 to 6 p.m. on each of the interview days. The public will be allowed to fill out comment forms, but only members of the search committee will be allowed to ask questions, Lunstroth said. “We want to make sure all the questions are appropriate,” she said. “We certainly don’t want to set ourselves up for anything that isn’t ethical.”

Despite the fact that the board has worked closely with Howard for many years, Lunstroth said that won’t give her an edge. “I don’t think it does,” she said. “She has certainly done a great job for the district this last year. The board stated we were going to do a full search. That is what we are doing. We’ve tried to involve the community every step of the way.”

The new superintendent will make $130,000 a year, an increase from the $118,000 the previous superintendent made and the $116,800 annual salary currently received by Howard. The board looked at comparable districts and realized the old salary was on the low side, Lunstroth said. The salary was raised to attract good candidates to the position. “The board decided on that figure,” Lunstroth said.

The board is expected to announce its final decision on the new superintendent at its April 22 meeting.