New school board members take oaths of office

Cindy Webster-Martinson and Beth Worthington were sworn in by County Commissioner Rob Gelder

By Kipp Robertson • December 17, 2013 7:40 pm

Tags: North Kitsap

POULSBO — Before stepping down from the North Kitsap School Board on Dec. 12, Tom Anderson asked if he could make one more motion.

Anderson recommended the board approve the consent agenda. Shortly after the board’s vote of approval, Anderson’s eight-year tenure on the board ended.

For his time as the liaison between the district and local tribal governments, Anderson was gifted a blanket by the Suquamish Tribe.

Cindy Webster-Martinson and Beth Worthington were sworn in by County Commissioner Rob Gelder, then took their places at the dais following a reception for their predecessors.

Webster-Martinson, who succeeds Anderson as District 1 board member, is believed to be the first Suquamish Tribe member elected to a non-tribal public office in Kitsap. Webster-Martinson served on the Suquamish Tribal Council in 1980-82 — her grandfather, Lawrence Webster, was chairman at the time — and this year she was elected to the Suquamish Tribe Elders Council.

She has a BA in education from Pacific Lutheran University and a MA in education administration from Seattle University. She taught in grades K-6 for three years and for the past five years has worked as an educator/teacher for the Suquamish Tribe education department.

Worthington succeeds Ken Ames as District 3 board member. She is a senior systems engineer for FGS-LLC, a Navy contractor. She has lived in Suquamish for 19 years and has one child in the school district; another child graduated from the district and is attending college.

Worthington’s work in education has included examiner, judge and board member for the Washington State Quality Award, and serving on the school district’s budget committee for 2013-14.

Suquamish Tribe Chairman Leonard Forsman and a contingent of tribal members attended the oath of office. After a short speech by Forsman, tribal members sang a song (to watch, let video load and skip to 62:40).