SEQUIM — Should Gary Neal agree to become the Sequim School District’s interim superintendent, his first priority will be to help pass a bond to fund school infrastructure projects.
Neal, currently Sequim’s assistant superintendent for teaching and learning, will assume the new position July 1, pending successful contract negotiations with the School Board.
He was chosen Monday night, with all board members present voting to offer Neal, 56, the position. Heather Jeffers was absent.
The details of the contract — salary and length of contract — have yet to be hammered out.
“I think I would like to push this forward,” Neal said of another attempt to pass a bond measure.
“I have listened to community members, parents [and] staff members. I know there is some excitement out there,” he said.
“We have things breaking down that have to be fixed. We have to do something.”
The School Board is considering seeking voter approval of a bond issue following the February defeat of a bond to finance a new elementary school and more classrooms in Sequim.
The board has not discussed how much it would ask for or when it would put a measure before the voters.
In February, the school district’s proposed $49.5 million, 20-year bond received 6,691 yes votes to 5,026 no votes — a 57.11 percent to 42.89 percent margin. A 60 percent supermajority was required.
That followed the failure of another bond attempt in April 2014 calling for $154 million for construction projects which garnered support from only about 44 percent of Sequim voters.
Pursuing a third attempt to receive voter approval of a bond measure “is right even though we had a double bond failure,” Neal said.
“We increased our ‘yes’ votes by nearly 13 percent” from the April 2014 election to that in early 2015, he said.
“That is huge. That is a lot of votes, so to stop now — I think we could lose a lot of that energy that is out there.
“We are really close, and I am certainly not willing just to throw in the towel.”
Neal will serve while the School Board restarts the search to find a permanent replacement for Patrick Kelly Shea, who has served as superintendent since March 2012.
Shea is leaving June 30 to become superintendent of the East Valley School District in Spokane Valley.
Last week, the School Board decided to pass on two finalists for superintendent, saying neither man — Sheldon Berman of Eugene, Ore., and Joe Potts of the Seattle suburb of Kent — would be a good fit.
The two had been drawn from a pool of 24 applicants which had included Neal, who says he hopes to fill the position permanently.
The search for candidates was led by McPherson & Jacobson LLC of Omaha, Neb.
The firm, which was paid $9,000, has said it will conduct a new hunt for the district at no extra charge.
“It is a pleasant surprise,” Neal said following the vote, adding the experience is “quite humbling.”
“I was ready for this journey two weeks ago . . . and am still ready for that opportunity,” Neal said.
Neal said he believes he will be a good fit.
“I think Kelly and I [are cut] from the same cloth,” he said. “We are loyal people. We are down to earth.
“I am not going to be flamboyant, but we are going to do what we think is right for each kid.”
That will include connecting students with various professionals to learn more about potential career opportunities, he said.
Neal has been with the Sequim School District since July 2014. He had formerly been the principal of West Valley High School in Spokane since 2006.
Neal has a superintendent’s certificate and a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education from Washington State University, a master’s degree in administration and curriculum from Gonzaga University, and a continuing elementary and secondary teacher certification from Eastern Washington University.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Chris McDaniel can be reached at 360-681-2390, ext. 5052, or cmcdaniel@peninsuladailynews.com.
