SEQUIM — Bill Bentley, Sequim School District’s superintendent since April 2007, is resigning effective June 30 to pursue other interests.
“It’s time. I have the opportunity to do some things I am interested in doing,” said the 61-year-old educator whose superintendent career spans 23 years.
First, he plans to take the summer off — his first summerlong vacation since he was 15.
Then, he would like to take classical guitar lessons, build a cabin and maybe even teach at the college or university level.
He emphasized that he is not retiring.
“I have not ruled out that I might work part time some place,” he said.
Before coming to the Sequim district to succeed Garn Christensen as schools superintendent, Bentley, who grew up in Tillamook, Ore., was assistant superintendent of the 25,000-student Evergreen School District in Vancouver, Wash.
Bentley said he and his wife, Lorna, plan to keep a home in Sequim but also plan to spend time in Vancouver to visit family.
Sequim School Board Chairman John Bridge said board members had known in recent months that Bentley was considering such a decision.
Bridge said he appreciates that Bentley gave the board seven months to find and seat a successor.
“He could have waited until some time in March, but instead, he gave us plenty of time to figure out how we want to do it,” Bridge said.
The board will meet before year’s end to discuss the process of hiring a search firm to find a new superintendent, he said.
“We hope to get a time line” for the selection process, he said, and public guidance on the search will be sought.
Bentley said he made the announcement Tuesday night during a School Board meeting to ensure plenty of time “to make sure the school district had the ability to make the best selection possible.”
The district has about 160 teachers, a staff of about 350 and more than 2,700 students, about the same as when Bentley started in 2007.
The superintendent said he feels he will leave the district in good financial shape, with improved facilities and long-term planning for the future.
But he warned of tough challenges ahead.
“The most important issue is student achievement,” he said.
“That’s the only reason we’re here.
“Last year, we did a very thorough look at a student performance plan for the whole district.”
He added, “I hope that the ground that we prepared for whoever comes next that they’ll be able to say, ‘I can take off from my platform with this.’”
Looking ahead, Bentley said he sees “a perfect storm” coming with the state cutting funding to schools while holding onto the same requirements and expectations in performance.
“I do think that for all school districts that the challenges districts are going to face with the financial side are going to be significant,” he said.
“It looks to me like there are going to have to be some real hard decisions made.”
Cuts to school staffing are likely, he said, since staffing comprises 80 percent of the district’s budget.
“The Legislature is going to have to give us a break somewhere,” he said.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.
