QUILCENE — Two finalists for a joint Quilcene-Brinnon superintendent position will meet the public today.
Martin Schmidt, superintendent of the Gorman (Calif.) Independent School District, and Wally Lis, principal of Rainier High School, will meet the public in an open forum at 6 p.m. in the Quilcene School District’s multi purpose room. 294715 US Highway 101.
The new superintendent will replace Quilcene Superintendent David Anderson and Brinnon Superintendent Linda Thompson, who are both retiring this year.
The Brinnon and Quilcene school boards decided to combine the two part-time jobs into a single full-time position because it would allow them to attract a better candidate field and offer a better salary.
The joint position was advertised at $92,000, Brinnon School Board President Val Schindler said.
Quilcene School Board President Bonnie Hitt said the action was not a consolidation of the two districts, but a combination of resources.
A combined committee of the Brinnon and Quilcene School boards narrowed the choice from seven applicants to two finalists.
Schmidt has worked in California since 2006. He said in his application letter he is anxious to return to the North Olympic Peninsula, which he describes as “the most beautiful place in the world.”
Schmidt characterizes himself as “an experienced instructional leader [with] years of experience establishing a vision of excellence and a culture of professional development aimed at increased level of student achievement.”
Schmidt worked as assistant principal of Klahowya Secondary School in Silverdale from 1997 to 2006.
Lis overlapped Schmidt with experience in Kitsap County, working as director of curriculum and assessment for the North Kitsap School District from 2002 to 2009.
In his application letter, Lis said he has successfully fulfilled financial and leadership responsibilities at both the district and administrative levels.
“I worked closely with administrative trams, parent advisory groups, multiple community organizations and school boards in their efforts to budget funds, pursue grant monies and share limited resources for the optimum management of district educational programs,” Lis wrote.
The Quilcene School Board and the Brinnon School Board will conduct a joint executive session from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. today at the Quilcene School District Learning Center to interview both candidates.
This will be followed by meetings with the staff and administration of both schools, with candidates shuttling between the two campuses before they settle in Quilcene for the public forum.
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.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
