QUILCENE — The part-time superintendents of the adjacent small school districts in Brinnon and Quilcene are retiring, and the two boards of the districts are considering recruiting one person to work full time and fill both jobs.
Both Quilcene Superintendent David Anderson and Brinnon Superintendent Nancy Thompson are retiring at the end of the school year. Anderson has served for eight years while Thompson has worked in the position for five.
Each receives a part-time salary. Anderson receives $44,000 while Thompson earns $44,443.
Anderson said the districts would advertise a single position with an salary of about $80,000.
“We think that if we can offer a higher salary, we can get higher quality applicants,” Anderson said.
The Brinnon School board approved the idea at a meeting last week.
Quilcene mulling idea today
Quilcene School Board will address the matter at a special meeting at 4 p.m. today at the school, 294715 U.S. Highway 101.
If both approve the idea, the two districts would work to develop a single listing, which would be advertised in local newspapers and educational journals.
“We don’t know what the listing will look like until we examine the details,” said Brinnon School Board Chairman Val Schindler.
“It could end up being two separate contracts.”
Not consolidation
Both districts would maintain their own identities.
“This is not a consolidation,” Schindler said.
“The districts will remain separate.”
Many other details about the job have yet to be defined, including a schedule for the superintendent’s attendance at each district.
The new superintendent may also contribute to the job’s definition, Brinnon Schools business manager Debi Johnson said.
Quilcene — made up of an elementary, middle and high school — has 400 students plus 15 in preschool.
Brinnon, which offers classes only through the eighth grade, has 50 students, which includes 13 preschoolers.
Quilcene School Board member Lorna Ward expressed optimism about the proposal.
“This has never been done around here, but I think we can work together,” she said.
“This can be a very positive thing.”
Ward said she would like to get input from the staffs of each schools to develop the best working relationship.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
