SEQUIM — The Sequim School Board has successfully concluded contract negotiations with Gary Neal, who will serve as interim superintendent from July 1 through June 30, 2016.
Neal, currently Sequim’s assistant superintendent for teaching and learning, will replace Patrick Kelly Shea, who is leaving June 30 to become superintendent of the East Valley School District in Spokane Valley.
The contract with Neal is expected to be signed sometime this week.
According to the contract, Neal, 56, will be paid $133,900 — the amount Shea earned — for his services during the 2015-16 school year.
The contract was approved by all board members present Monday night after an executive session. Bev Horan, board president, was absent.
Neal was elated after the vote.
“I am giddy,” he said. “I just really appreciate [the School Board’s] support and their kind words and everything that has been kind of falling into place the last two weeks.
“It truly is an honor to represent this community and the educational base.”
New search
Neal will serve while the School Board renews the search to find a permanent replacement for Shea, who has been superintendent since March 2012.
The search for a new superintendent began in mid-March.
The School Board initiated contract negotiations with Neal on May 18.
Neal was chosen after the School Board decided to pass on two finalists for superintendent, saying neither man would be a good fit.
24 applicants
The two had been drawn from a pool of 24 applicants which had included Neal.
The search for candidates was led by McPherson & Jacobson LLC of Omaha, Neb. The firm was paid $9,000 by the board.
The company said it will conduct a new hunt to find a permanent superintendent for the district at no extra charge.
In his current post, which he has held since July 2014, Neal provides leadership for the district’s curriculum, instruction, assessment and technology programs.
Experience, education
Before coming to Sequim, he had been the principal of West Valley High School in Spokane.
Neal has a superintendent’s certificate from Washington State University, a master’s degree in administration and curriculum from Gonzaga University, a continuing elementary and secondary teacher certification from Eastern Washington University and a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education from WSU.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Chris McDaniel can be reached at 360-681-2390, ext. 5052, or cmcdaniel@peninsuladailynews.com.
