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Friday, April 19, 2013
Board approves search firm By Wes Morrow wmorrow@soundpublishing.com
The Central Kitsap School Board has selected the search firm that will help replace outgoing superintendent Greg Lynch. That search will take place in two parts —
first an interim superintendent will be established and then a search for a permanent superintendent will take place in the fall. NW Leadership Associates was selected, from the two firms considered, to guide the district’s search.
After hearing presentations from company representatives with both NW Leadership Associates and McPherson & Jacobson, the board voted unanimously in favor of NW Leadership. “They were both excellent presentations,” said board
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member Eric Greene. “I think we just went with the one that felt a little more right.” Dennis Ray and NW Leadership Associates helped South Kitsap in its February search for a superintendent. It was also the firm used by Central Kitsap to find Greg Lynch nine years ago and recently connected Lynch with his new employer, the Olympic Educational Service District 114. During the Saturday planning session that followed, the board elected to fill the position with an interim candidate before looking for a permanent replacement to Lynch. The interim candidate should be in place when Lynch leaves at the end of June. “We’ll come back to do a full-blown search for a new longterm superintendent in the fall,” Greene said. At its meeting last Wednesday, the CK school board released Superintendent Lynch from the remainder of his contract
and accepted his resignation. Board members then began the discussion of how to go about replacing the man they’ve had in charge for nearly a decade. “It’s a big loss for our district, but we’re going to value from your expertise and leadership with the ESD,” board President Mark Gaines told Lynch following the vote. Since the superintendent announced his plan to leave on March 29, the board has only a short while to find a replacement before his departure. Because of that condensed time-frame, Greene said the board decided to postpone the search for a permanent replacement until the fall so that all stakeholders will have time to give input into the selection process. “It’s about doing it right and ensuring that everybody that needs to be heard is heard,” he said. During reports at last week’s board meeting, additional speakers took time to thank Lynch for his service at the district. Teachers’ union President Kirsten Nicholson congratulated Lynch on his new job
Bremerton parks funding task force work continues By KEVAN MOORE kmoore@soundpublishing.com
The City of Bremerton’s Parks and Recreation Funding Task Force was expected to meet again this week to look at specific funding reductions from the last five years that occurred as a result of the economic recession of recent years. In May, the group, whose meetings are open to the public, will be looking at specific funding options to maintain parks in coming years. “In March’s meeting, we said we wanted to hear from the public and it was a pretty full room of over 50 people in attendance,”
said Parks and Recreation Director Wyn Birkenthal. “In an evening meeting where that many people think that parks are important and that we need a solution, I take that as a very good sign.” The group has a tentative deadline of September to make recommendations to the city council. The city’s parks staffing levels are the same in 2013 as they were in 1977, but 17 locations (parks, street medians, plazas, etc.) have been added to the staff’s work load in that time. The staffing level has remained constant at 18 full-time employees. Prior to the recession’s onset, staffing had been as high as 26
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with the service district. The union cast a vote of no confidence in Lynch last June, but none of that animosity appeared to be on display as Nicholson thanked the superintendent for his service. “We want to thank you for your leadership at this time and wish you well,” Nicholson said. Classified staff representative Kari Clithero also thanked Lynch for his service during her report. “Sometimes we get forgotten and he’s always made us feel important,” Clithero said. Julietta Hokanson thanked Lynch on behalf of the Parent Teacher Student Association, citing his consistent willingness to appear at district and school functions. “It’s really exciting when I can go to just about any school and go to an afterschool event and he’s there,” she said. “It really makes a difference. Lynch will continue working as superintendent for Central Kitsap schools through the end of June. He is set to take over as superintendent for the service district on July 1.
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employees to accommodate growth. The parks department operating budget, which was approximately $3.4 million in 2008, is at $2.56 million this year. The reductions have been caused primarily by declining property and sales tax revenues. Birkenthal said that the task force hasn’t looked at specific funding strategies yet, but there are several possibilities. Some of those could include a levy, the creation of a junior taxing district, a maintenance and operation levy combined with some sort of bond or the formation of a parks utility district. Other options could include supplementing the budget with a foundation or park adoption by nonprofit organizations or private corporations that enter into agreements with the city. “Lastly, one option would be to eliminate some services in order to do a better job of services that are a higher priority and I’m sure the committee will be looking at that at some point in time as well,” Birkenthal noted.