SEQUIM — Larry Jeffryes has resigned his position on the Sequim School Board, which has opened his District 1 seat to applicants through Sept. 5.
In a letter from Jeffryes dated July 10 to board president Eric Pickens and schools superintendent Regan Nickels, he wrote that it was “time for me to focus on new priorities, and the board is in capable hands moving forward.”
“The district’s leadership and staff have laid strong foundations for continuous improvement and student success,” Jeffryes wrote.
The board accepted Jeffryes’ resignation on Monday and opened an application process through the district’s website at https://www.sequimschools.org/School_Board/application_process.
Jeffryes was one of five elected board members and one of three who serve a specific geographic region. Two directors are at-large.
Candidate interviews will be conducted at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 15, and a decision is likely that night.
The appointed director will join the board Oct. 6 and serve through November 2026, when the next school board election will be conducted.
Those with questions can contact Trayce Norman, executive assistant to the superintendent, at 360-582-3262 or email tnorman@sequimschools.org.
Board director Patrice Johnston suggested pushing the application window from August to September in hopes of receiving more interest and applicants; other directors agreed.
Jeffryes was the school board’s state School Directors’ Association representative. Following his resignation, the board elected Michael Rocha to fill the position.
Jeffryes previously taught in science classrooms at the middle and high school levels in Colorado and New Mexico for 35 years, and he went on to work as a health and safety training specialist at the Los Alamos National Labs for nine years, focusing on radiation worker training.
He and his wife Shirley, a retired dental hygienist, have two grown daughters.
Jeffryes said his father and sister were educators and his mother was a librarian, so teaching is in his blood.
Initially, he was on track to study medicine, but in the summer of 1968, he worked as a camp counselor in Colorado where he “felt like I was in my element.”
Jeffryes said he also followed in the footsteps of his high school science teacher, coach and mentor.
He moved to Sequim in 2013.
Jeffryes was appointed in September 2019 to replace Robin Henrikson, who had resigned from the District 1 seat. He ran unopposed two months later and won the seat. He won a contested race in 2023. His term was through November 2027.
When he first sought a seat on the board, Jeffryes said his priority would be to improve school infrastructure, maintain a strong and positive relationship with the superintendent and provide a safe and secure environment for learning.
During his six years on the board, Jeffryes worked with four interim and full-time superintendents, and he was appointed and then elected a few months before the COVID-19 pandemic began.
In 2021, voters approved a four-year $29.7 million Educational Programs & Operations (EP&O) levy and a four-year, $15 million capital projects levy. This past February, voters approved a four-year, $36.2 million EP&O levy renewal, and a $146 million, 20-year construction bond.
Jeffryes wrote in his resignation letter that it was an honor to serve the students, staff and community, and he thanked the community for supporting the recent levy and bond.
“The Sequim community is in for exciting times ahead due to voter support for education,” he wrote.
Jeffryes, with his wife Shirley nearby, also spoke briefly at Monday’s school board meeting, saying he “believed it was the right time for me personally and the school district that I stepped down.”
He encouraged whomever is appointed to his seat to ask questions and do their homework.
“As for me, after 57 years working in education one way or the other, including six years on the board, I’m looking forward to what may come next,” Jeffryes said.
Jeffryes later said his biggest achievement was helping the school board and district build to be in a better place than when he started.
Fellow board members complimented his focus, fiscal-mindedness, mentorship, optimism and heart for children.
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Matthew Nash is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. He can be reached by email at matthew.nash@sequimgazette.com.
