SEQUIM — Sequim school board directors have appointed Nicholas Bell to replace Larry Jeffryes following Jeffryes’ resignation in July.
Bell, a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel, was chosen Sept. 15 after the board conducted interviews with Bell and three other candidates, Jeremy Hako, Ricky Johnson and Charles Meyer. A fifth candidate, Alysia Tourette, withdrew her application.
Candidates were each given 20 minutes before the board to talk about their qualifications and ask questions about the position. Bell was unanimously chosen after an executive session.
“It’s an honor,” Bell said in an interview.
“Not having been in this position, I don’t know what I don’t know, but I’m committed to the institution, the kids and the community.”
He will be sworn in at the Nov. 3 board meeting.
Board President Eric Pickens said all of the candidates were amazing and any of them could have easily served in the role.
“I feel their hearts were all in the right place for our students,” he said.
Fellow director Maren Halvorsen agreed, saying she found them to be “meaningful and inspirational” when speaking about their interest in serving the school district.
“Student needs were brought up a lot by every candidate,” she said.
In his application, Bell wrote that he is committed to the responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars from the $146 million bond supporting facilities modernization, ensuring the district provides equitable resources for all students, and fostering safe, inclusive learning environments that nurture the developmental growth of the community’s youth and the success of the district’s staff.
Jeffryes’ director seat No. 1 serves the western portion of the Sequim School District. Bell will serve through November 2026, when the next school board election will be held.
Bell, a parent of a student at Helen Haller Elementary, started the Greywolf Watch D.O.G.S. (Dads of Great Students) program a few years ago that encourages men who consider themselves to be a positive role model to spend quality time with children as volunteers at Greywolf Elementary.
“Research has shown, when men get involved in the academic and developmental aspects of growing up, there’s a profound change in behavior and performance,” Bell said.
He said the program has helped children connect with needed services and feel supported.
“Through this program, we wanted to convey something to the children — you possess unique and inherent value,” Bell said. “And I know the world is a better place because you’re in it.
“I believe we’ve made a powerful change at Greywolf.”
Bell also was a volunteer with Citizens for Sequim Schools that advocated for the district’s four-year, $36.2 million Educational Programs & Operations (EP&O) levy renewal and the 20-year, $146 million construction bond that voters approved in February.
He is a former volunteer with KSQM and was named a volunteer special deputy for the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office’s search and rescue team, he said.
Bell has a bachelor of arts degree in psychology from the University of Washington and an MBA in finance.
After graduating from UW, he joined the U.S. Air Force and went on to become a pilot. He is a combat veteran. Bell also led more than 100 personnel as the base comptroller commander, and he managed a multimillion dollar annual budget, human resources, training and more.
Bell attended public schools when he grew up in Seattle. His father was a college president and his mother a school psychologist, he told board directors.
Bell said he gleaned from his father’s leadership style that, when things became contentious or unclear, he’d redirect the room, start over and seek what’s in the best interest of the students.
“That mantra got into me and became a thing that’s resonated through my career,” he said.
He quoted the Air Force’s core values as some of his own: “Integrity first, service before self and excellence in all that we do.”
Bell told the board about the importance of stakeholder engagement, and using data based on evidence and best practices for tax dollars.
For more about the Sequim School District, visit sequimschools.org.
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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.
He has family employed by and enrolled in Sequim School District.
