PORT ANGELES — Clallam County’s gain is the Port Angeles School District’s loss.
The news that Jim Jones, the school district’s chief financial officer of nine years, was named the new Clallam County administrator Monday, hit Port Angeles School Board members hard.
“What a loss to the school district,” School Board Vice President Nancy McLaughlin said.
“He is a repository of so much information.”
Jones is by and large the district’s go-to guy when it comes to statistical information, she said.
“I really believe that even though the school district is going to be missing a very large part, that [Jones] is not disappearing,” School Board member Charles McClain said.
“He’ll be around and help support whoever we choose to replace him.”
School Board President Jeff Hinds said board members haven’t thought in-depth about how they are going to find Jones’ replacement, but they’ll start the discussion now that his resignation is official.
Fourth to resign
Jones is the fourth administrator out of 20 in the district to resign since January.
Although the district is going through a rough spell with enrollment declines and budget cuts, School Board members and Schools Superintendent Gary Cohn said the resignations are a coincidence.
North Olympic Peninsula Skills Center Director Clyde Rasmussen announced his resignation in January, followed by Assistant Schools Superintendent Ron Spanjer’s resignation a month ago, and Roosevelt Middle School Principal Brad Boudreau’s last week.
All three are leaving for jobs in school or college administrations elsewhere either as a career move or for family reasons.
Cohn himself put his hat in the ring about two months ago for the superintendent vacancy in the Renton School District, but was not chosen for the job.
Cohn said he applied for the position only because he was invited by the Renton School District to do so.
