POULSBO — North Kitsap School District residents could learn who their new superintendent of schools is on March 16.

The school board is scheduled to meet in executive session from 4-4:45 p.m. in the district board room to “evaluate the qualifications” of the three finalists for superintendent, then announce their selection sometime between 4:45-5 p.m.

The board will then recess to travel to the Point Casino & Hotel for a public meeting with officials from the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe.

The new superintendent will be one of the following:

• Laurynn Evans, Ed.D., assistant head of school at the private Francis Parker School in San Diego, California.
• Christine Moloney, Ed.D., chief academic officer for the Puyallup School District.
• Kelly Raymond, instructional leadership executive director for Highline Public Schools in Burien.

Evans is adjunct faculty at Seattle Pacific University. Moloney is an adjunct faculty member at the City University of Seattle. Raymond, a native of Australia who has been a U.S. citizen for 14 years, has international school experience.

“Any one of them would make a good superintendent,” Northwest Leadership Associates’ Mark Venn said during the candidate interview process. Made up mostly of retired superintendents, Northwest Leadership Associates helps school districts recruit new leadership.

The three met the public in a series of forums last week.

The new superintendent will succeed Patty Page, who is retiring after five years as head of North Kitsap schools. A North Kitsap High School graduate, Page previously served as superintendent of Coupeville schools, assistant superintendent of Kelso schools, and principal or vice principal in East Valley, Sunnyside, Gig Harbor, and Post Falls, Idaho. She started her career in education as a teacher in Clover Park.

School board president Beth Worthington said she was “impressed with” the work of the search firm and the transparency of the process — the public interviews with the semifinalists, the sessions in which the public got to meet the finalists. She said about 500 residents participated in an online survey — including Spanish-speaking residents — about the superintendent search, and Worthington counted 80 people who sat through “more than half” of the sessions with the finalists and provided written feedback.

Of the three finalists, she said, “I’m thrilled with the level of maturity and background, and their ability to connect with people.”

The new superintendent’s salary and benefits package will be comparable to Page’s: $158,000 salary, $190,000 total compensation — the latter includes medical and retirement benefits. Worthington said the compensation is based on that of superintendents in 20 comparable school districts.

‘Relationships, rigor and relevance’

During inteviews, all of the candidates seemed to emphasize the importance of what Moloney called “relationships, rigor and relevance.”

“I’m open, honest and transparent,” Moloney said during the interview process. She talked about the importance of “getting out and meeting people” and of having a vision, setting a plan and following it.

Establishing a clear mission and vision is vital to district success, Raymond said.

Evans added, “A mission statement should be short, sweet, memorizable and memorable.”

All of the candidates said they would meet with Tribal leaders in order to better understand local indigenous cultures and to determine how better to help meet the needs of Native American students in the district.

In all of the candidates’ remarks, the discussion always came back to the students: meeting their needs, making the curriculum relevant.

CANDIDATES AT A GLANCE

Laurynn (Laura) Evans

• 2014-17: Assistant head of school, Francis Parker School, San Diego, California.
• 2012-14: Executive director of talent development, Singapore American School.
• 2009-12: Principal, Lake Washington School District.
• 2003-09: Assistant principal, Mukilteo School District.
• 1999-2003: Dean of students/teacher, Issaquah School District.
• 1995-98: Teacher, Plano Independent School District, Plano, Texas.
• Other: Ed.D, Seattle Pacific University, 2009; 14 years of educational leadership experience; nine years of building-level leadership experience in Washington; eight years of teaching experience.

Christine Moloney

• 2016-17: Chief academic officer, Puyallup School District.
• 2015-16: Executive director of instructional leadership, Puyallup School District.
• 2012-15: Director of instructional leadership, Puyallup School District.
• 2005-12: Principal, Aylen Junior High, Puyallup School District.
• 2005: Interim principal, Cougar Mountain Junior High, Puyallup School District.
• 2001-05: Assistant principal, Bethel School District.
• 2000-01: Dean of students/secondary education specialist, Bethel School District.
• 1996-2000: Teacher, Bethel School District.
• Other: Ed.D, City University, 2014; five years of district-level leadership in Puyallup; 12 years building-level leadership in Bethel and Puyallup; five years of teaching experience.

Kelly Raymond

• 2014-present: Instructional leadership executive director, Highline Public Schools.
• 2010-14: Principal of Technology, Engineering, Communications High School, Highline Public Schools.
• 2006-2010: Director of High Schools and Professional & Organizational Development, Tacoma Public Schools.
• 2003-06: High school assistant principal, Clover Park School District.
• 2000-03: High school science department chair/teacher, Clover Park School District.
• 1992-2000: Teacher in Japan and Australia.
• Other: Superintendent certificate from Western Washington University, 2010; seven years of district-level leadership experience in Tacoma and Highline; four years of high school principal experience in Highline; three years of high school assistant principal experience in Clover Park.