PORT TOWNSEND — The Port Townsend School District Board of Directors has selected three finalists to succeed Superintendent David Engle, who is retiring June 30.
“We received a wide variety, a diverse group of candidates,” board chair Nathanael O’Hara said Tuesday.
“They all identified with our community and our efforts to create a place-based learning environment.”
The candidates, chosen from a field of 15 completed applications, are:
■ Tina L. Goar, currently the rural liaison/rural support manager at the Colorado Department of Education.
■ James J. Herrholtz Jr., currently the deputy superintendent at the Mahoning County Educational Service Center in Youngstown, Ohio.
■ John A. Polm Jr., now in his sixth year as principal at Bremerton High School.
Board Vice Chair Jennifer James-Wilson said the district is in a stronger position than it has been in past searches for superintendent candidates.
“We have a really good idea of who we are as a district now and have a stronger identity,” she said.
“We’ve done a lot of groundwork and unifying to define what we are doing within our school walls that makes the district an attractive place to work.”
James-Wilson hopes to have someone in place July 1. If that doesn’t happen, the district will search for an interim replacement.
“I don’t think our backs are against the wall,” she said.
The public has several opportunities to meet and question the candidates. Individual public interviews are scheduled Saturday in the boardroom in the Gael Stuart Building, 1610 Blaine St.
The 90-minute interviews are scheduled for 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., noon to 1:30 p.m. and from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
A public feedback session will follow from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
James-Wilson hopes the people who comment will have seen all three interviews.
The candidates will get the full tour Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of next week, with each taking a full day to connect with the community.
They will spend the day touring facilities and meeting school staff and students.
Each will meet with community leaders from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Northwest Maritime Center, 451 Water St., and with the public from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Blue Heron Middle School, 3939 San Juan Ave.
The order of the candidates has not been determined for either the Saturday interviews or the full-day visits, James-Wilson said.
A board meeting to discuss the candidates is tentatively scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday, May 19, in the Gael Stuart Building boardroom.
The board will discuss the candidates in executive session and then convene publicly to choose which one could be offered the position.
For more information, go to www.ptschools.org.
________
Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
