PORT ANGELES — The School Board wants to hire Jane Pryne of Arizona as superintendent — and she in enthusiastic about the offer.
“I feel like a little kid that just opened a Christmas present,” Pryne, 54, said from her home in Tucson after the Port Angeles School Board made its decision Thursday.
“I can hardly wait to get to work in the school district, and then on weekends get out and explore around Port Angeles.”
School Board President Steve Baxter declined to say how much the district will offer to pay Pryne, citing ongoing contract negotiation. A salary range for the job was never advertised.
The district paid Gary Cohn, who will report for duty as the Everett School superintendent on July 1, an annual salary of $138,658.50.
The vote to negotiate a contract with Pryne was unanimous at the early-morning special board meeting, with the motion made by Patti Happe and seconded by Cindy Kelly.
Baxter expects the board to approve a contract with Pryne at least by the next regular meeting of the board on June 8, and perhaps earlier at a special meeting.
If all goes as planned, Pryne is expected to begin her duties on July 1, although she said she probably would arrive about two weeks early to have some transition time with Cohn.
The board selected Pyrne after several weeks of interviews, community input and visits to the home districts of the two finalists, who also included Ray Terry, superintendent of Beaver County School District in Beaver, Utah.
“I have done many, many hirings in my multiple careers, but this was definitely the most difficult one I have ever made,” Baxter said.
“We had two very qualified candidates.”
Baxter said that, while evaluating the candidates in Thursday’s hour-long executive session, the board returned to the community and staff criteria for a new superintendent.
“Her leadership style fit better with our search criteria, and the feedback from her colleagues in the other school districts she worked with in the past was extremely consistent and very, very positive — especially in the areas of community involvement with the schools and moving forward in today’s more technical and budget-challenged environment,” he said.
“Her depth of community relationships and team building was demonstrated throughout the interview process — especially when we did the site visit — and that is what brought her forward.”
Commitment
The board also was struck by Pryne’s commitment to the community.
After her semi-finalist interview, she stayed for a week until the finalist interview, researching the district and area as well as attending some school functions, such as a strings concert.
Pryne said during her finalist interview: “You won’t find my name out there anywhere else.
“I’ve applied in Port Angeles because this is somewhere I want to be.”
In addition to interviewing the candidates, School Board members Kelly and Lonnie Linn each visited one of the candidates’ districts, and Baxter visited both.
“I am so thankful to Cindy and Lonnie and Steve for making the effort to go to those far away places to check out the home territories,” board member Nancy McLaughlin said.
“It was really critical information that enhanced our decisions when they brought their information back.”
About 25 community members participated in public forums for each of the candidates
“The process and the community involvement was the key to the decision-making process,” Baxter said.
“The input from the community and what our employees were looking for was paramount.”
Pryne was superintendent of schools in the Continental School District and Marana Unified School District, both located south of Tucson, Ariz.
She now teaches education classes for Northern Arizona University in Tucson.
She received her doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Arizona in Tucson in May 2002, a master’s in special education with an emphasis on learning disabilities in August 1981 and a bachelor’s in elementary education in May 1977.
Pryne said that she and her husband, Jim — with whom she has a son, Andrew, who is a sophomore at the University of Montana — are “both so excited about coming to Port Angeles.”
Her husband has a boat in Oak Harbor.
“He was in Port Angeles for about a day, but he loves Washington and enjoyed being in Port Angeles.”
Most recently Pryne has been working at the university level creating a program for undergraduates to become dual-certified in elementary education and special education as well as teaching graduate courses on becoming a superintendent.
“When I was teaching those graduate classes I just kept thinking, why am I teaching this and not doing it?” she said.
Beyond the school district — which she described as the perfect size and perfect fit for her — she said she is looking forward to exploring the area.
“The fact that Olympic National Park is right there in the backyard of Port Angeles is so exciting,” she said.
“It is so different from anything we have here in Arizona.”
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.
