SEQUIM — Should he accept the board’s offer, Sequim School District’s next superintendent will be Kelly Shea, executive director of human services at Mead School District in the Spokane area.
After a nearly three-hour executive session today, the Sequim School Board came out of the closed session to announce it plans to offer the job to Shea.
Shea, one of four finalists who visited the district last week, was featured at a public forum on Monday.
School Board President Sarah Bedinger said it was difficult the decide among the four high-caliber candidates.
The board is expected to formally approve the hire with a final salary and benefits package at its 7 p.m. meeting Monday in its conference room at the historic Sequim High School building, 503 N. Sequim Ave.
The School Board’s hired recruitment consultants from McPherson & Jacobson were expected to negotiate a contract with Shea after Bedinger offered him the job tonight.
Bedinger said the salary offer likely would be comparable to that of current Superintendent Bill Bentley, who is leaving the district after five years for personal reasons.
Bentley is paid $120,000 a year plus benefits.
“All of the candidates were amazing in lots of different ways,” Bedinger said before the board unanimously voted to approve making Shea an offer.
She called it “a real tough choice.”
The board spend Monday through Thursday taking candidates around school facilities and introducing them to the district staff, and held public forums for each of the four finalists.
The board also conducted final interviews of each finalist behind closed doors.
Shea, who started his career in 1987 as a teacher, has been serving the past five years as the executive director of the Mead School District.
He also was an elementary school principal for 10 years in the Central Valley and Mead school districts.
He began his professional education career as an elementary school teacher, working for 10 years in that capacity in the Spokane School District.
Shea graduated from Whitworth University in Spokane, earning a degree in elementary education and a master’s degree in reading.
He earned his superintendent credentials from Washington State University.
The other three finalists were:
■ Robert Kuehl, assistant superintendent at Tumwater School District in Tumwater.
■ Mellody Matthes, assistant superintendent at Tukwila School District in Tukwila.
■ Robert Maxwell, executive director of special programs, Bethel School District, Bethel.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.
