SEQUIM — Sequim School District Superintendent Kelly Shea is one of three finalists for the top job at the East Valley School District in Spokane Valley.
Shea, who joined the school district less than three years ago, said he applied for the position to move closer to family members.
“I was born and raised in Spokane Valley. It’s home, where my whole family is,” he told the Peninsula Daily News on Monday.
His stepfather recently died and his mother has been diagnosed with cancer, he said.
“I’m not looking to leave Sequim. My wife and I are very happy to live and work here,” Shea said.
But with members of his family having health difficulties, he felt he must take the opportunity to be closer to them.
Shea, one of six semi-finalists interviewed by the district, was named Thursday one of three finalists for the school superintendent position in Spokane Valley, a city east of Spokane.
He is scheduled to travel there for an interview on Thursday, and expects to learn of the results at some time during the following week.
“I have no idea what timeline the [East Valley] School Board is going to use,” he said.
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.
He earns an annual salary of about $133,900.
If Shea is selected, his salary at East Valley would depend on negotiations between Shea and the school district. He would not begin work there until July.
Whether he gets the job or not, he said that as long as he is in the Sequim district, he plans to continue working to get a bond passed to address crowded conditions and aging buildings in the district.
“The bond is important to the district, the community and the kids,” Shea said,
We need to do something to address the facilities needs we have,” he said.
Voters have twice rejected a proposed construction bond, which requires a 60 percent supermajority for passage, for Sequim school buildings.
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 additional projects.
The vote resulted in 55.31 percent of voters said no, while only 44.69 percent would have approved the bond.
In the Feb. 10 special election, voters narrowly declined a pared-down $49.5 million bond that the district said addressed only the district’s most immediate needs.
Those included additional buildings, refurbishment of existing buildings, replacement of deteriorating kitchen equipment, the 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 yes to 42.41 percent no.
East Valley School District has 4,500 students, with four elementary schools, a year-round kindergarten-through-eighth-grade school, a middle school, a high school and a vocational technologies school.
The Sequim district serves about 2,800 students. It has two elementary schools, a middle school and a high school.
Shea started his career 28 years ago.
He began his professional education career working for 10 years as an elementary 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 in elementary education and a master’s in reading.
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.
