PORT TOWNSEND — David Engle, who is in his fourth year as the Port Townsend School District superintendent, will retire at the end of the school year.
“When I came on board, I said I’d be here for three to five years,” Engle, 67, said Wednesday.
“We’ve accomplished some big things in that time, and passing the bond package was my Super Bowl as a superintendent.”
On Feb. 9, voters in the school district approved a $40.9 million construction bond, which needs a 60 percent supermajority for passage, by 73.23 percent of the electorate.
Engle, who has been pondering retirement for some time, resolved to “get through February” before making a final decision, he said.
After awakening Tuesday, he decide to make the move. His retirement letter was in the hands of the school board that afternoon.
Both Engle and school board Chairman Nathaneal O’Hara said the board will probably address the issue at its regular meeting at 6 p.m. Monday at the Gael Stuart Building, 1610 Blaine St.
Engle outlined three paths the board could take: look for an immediate permanent replacement, hire an interim leader or create a committee to study options for hiring a replacement before the 2017-18 school year.
“I don’t know what the board will decide to do, but I expect they will take their time,” Engle said.
“The path could be a hybrid of those choices.”
Highlight of career
In his letter addressed to O’Hara, Engle called his tenure at Port Townsend “the professional highlight of my long career in education.”
Soon after Engle began his tenure, the community was immersed in controversy.
One of the first issues he faced was a change in the high school mascot name. The change from Redskins, a long-standing team name, to Redhawks drew battle lines in the community.
After that, he “helped create a vision for the school district” and led the establishment of the Maritime Discovery Initiative, a place-based learning program meant to connect students to Port Townsend’s sea-faring heritage.
He said his crowning achievement was the passage of the school bond. The bond will subsidize the construction of a new elementary school as well as some capital projects.
The bond passage doesn’t mean the district is on safe financial ground, he said.
“This will continue to be a problem,” Engle said, adding that all public schools in the state face funding shortages.
“The state needs to figure this out,” he said. “They keep kicking it down the road.”
Last year, the state Supreme Court ruled that the Legislature was in contempt of court for not funding basic education.
Earlier this month, Gov. Jay Inslee signed a bill that establishes a task force to find the state dollars needed to replace some local levy spending and instructs the 2017 Legislature to finish the work.
Retirement plans
Engle said he “hasn’t quite figured this retirement thing out” but plans to stay in Port Townsend, travel and stay involved with the schools.
His wife, Margaret, is a retired teacher.
“I will be a big school supporter without interfering directly,” Engle said.
Engle, who grew up in the Puget Sound area, came to Port Townsend from Lawrenceville, N.J., where he had moved to take a position with a textbook company.
He holds a doctorate, and his experience includes serving as a school superintendent in North Platte, Neb.
He filled a position that had been held by Gene Laes on an interim basis. Laes had taken over after Tom Opstad resigned.
O’Hara praised Engle’s work as superintendent.
“He’s really established a forward-looking mind-set in the district,” O’Hara said.
“He got people to get the community involved and invested in the schools and the schools involved in the community.”
O’Hara said he didn’t know what shape the succession process would take but it “will not be reactive. We will take our time and do what’s best for the health of the district.”
________
Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
