SEQUIM — Sequim School District Superintendent Kelly Shea has accepted the superintendent’s position at East Valley School District in Spokane Valley.
The East Valley School District Board of Directors voted Thursday to hire Shea after interviewing three finalists for the position, and Shea accepted the position Friday, according to a statement by East Valley.
Shea was interviewed by the board in Spokane Valley all day Thursday, while the other finalists were interviewed Tuesday and Wednesday, he said last week.
The 4,500-student district east of Spokane in Western Washington has seven schools, 480 staff members and an annual operating budget of $44.4 million.
Sequim School District serves about 2,800 students, with an annual operating budget of $27.5 million.
The East Valley School Board will be asked to vote on Shea’s formal hiring March 24.
He is expected to start his new position July 1.
It is not yet known what Shea will be paid for the new position. Negotiations will determine Shea’s salary in Spokane Valley.
He earns an annual salary of $133,900 in Sequim.
Shea, who joined the Sequim School District in 2012, said he applied for the Spokane position to move closer to family members.
“I’m excited about my opportunity to go home and be near family again,” Shea said Sunday.
Shea’s stepfather recently died, and his mother was diagnosed with cancer last year.
She is currently in remission and doing well but is tested regularly, he said.
With members of his family having health difficulties, he said he felt he must take the opportunity to be closer to them.
Shea will replace interim Superintendent Tom Gresch, previously the district’s assistant superintendent of general services.
Gresch was one of the other two candidates for superintendent and is expected to remain at the district in his former role.
Shea was selected by the Sequim School Board in March 2012 to replace outgoing Superintendent Bill Bentley and began work in the position in July 2012.
The Sequim School Board is scheduled to meet at 6 p.m. March 16, when they are expected to discuss initiating a superintendent search.
Shea said he notified the Sequim School Board of his plans when he applied for the Spokane Valley job.
“They have known all along what I was doing, and they have been very supportive,” he said.
He said he notified the board of his selection in Spokane and will submit a formal letter of resignation at the regular School Board meeting March 16.
On Sunday, Board Member John Bridge said McPherson & Jacobson, the consulting firm that recruited Shea for Sequim three years ago, will be at the March 16 board meeting to discuss a new superintendent search.
The firm will discuss the availability of candidates at this time, and a possible expedited timeline to have a superintendent in place on July 1, Bridge said.
“I feel optimistic we are going to get some good candidates,” he said.
Meanwhile, for Shea, it’s back to work.
Running the school district and assisting with a new superintendent search will be the main task for the next few months.
“There is still a lot of work to do,” he said.
Bridge said the board will continue working on passing a bond to renovate older structures and expand for a growing student population, but while there have been no formal discussions, it is likely another attempt will wait for the November general election.
In April 2014, voters rejected a $154 million bond for construction projects that would have added a third elementary school, replaced several high school buildings, upgraded playing fields and completed additional projects.
The final vote was 55.31 percent against to 44.69 percent for.
In the Feb. 10 special election, voters narrowly declined a pared-down $49.5 million bond that district officials said addressed only the district’s most immediate needs.
Those included additional buildings to make room for a growing enrollment, refurbishment of existing buildings, replacement of deteriorating kitchen equipment, construction of an elementary school and the remodel of an old elementary school for use as a transitional school.
The final vote was 57.59 percent for to 42.41 percent against, with a supermajority needed.
Shea started his career 28 years ago, beginning with working for 10 years as an elementary school teacher in the Spokane School District.
He also was an elementary school principal for 10 years in the Central Valley and Mead school districts, both near Spokane.
Shea graduated from Whitworth University in Spokane with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and a master’s degree in reading education.
He earned superintendent credentials from Washington State University.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
