POULSBO — It’s no secret what parents are looking for in a new North Kitsap School District superintendent. It’s no surprise, either. They just want someone who will nurse an open line of communication between the parents and the district.

On Wednesday night, some two dozen community members — mostly parents with students in the school district — just wanted to bend the ear of the two finalists for the NKSD superintendent job.

After a months-long search process headed up by Cascade Consulting Group, the field has been narrowed to two choices for the NKSD board of directors. Either Richard Jones or Mary Vedra will fill the spot being left vacant by the retiring Superintendent Gene Medina.

Jones is currently the superintendent of the Burlington-Edison School District, a position he’s been in since 1998. Vedra has served as the executive director of Learning Services for the Arapahoe County School District in Englewood, Colo., since 1999.

Carmen Gale, district president of the North Kitsap Parent Teacher Association Council, has two children, fourth-grade twins, in the district. She wants a superintendent who, above all, will keep an open dialogue with parents.

It’s also critical that the new superintendent “really focuses on and cares about the kids in the district,” she said.

As a mom, she’s entranced by the changes she’s seen in her children as they age and mature. She’s also aware that her children don’t just go to school to learn, they also go to socialize. In all, she said, her children spend about one-third of their waking hours at school.

“That village cares about my children and I want a superintendent to be a part of that village,” she said. “That’s the bottom line.”

Cami Hattrick, who has a son with special needs at North Kitsap High School, shared Gale’s sentiment. She, too, wants a superintendent who has the needs of all children in mind. Her concern lies with putting principle into practice and making sure that all children – including those with special needs – are able to learn in the classroom.

It’s the day-to-day needs of the children and teachers that sometimes fall by the wayside in the overall scheme of things, she said.

“How do we reach out to the children and make sure we do what’s best for all the children?” Hattrick asked.