Bethany McDonald. For the last eight years, one couldn’t set foot in a meeting of the North Kitsap School District Board of Directors meeting without taking note of her professionalism and overly apparent commitment to students. Dick Endresen was right there with her, exhibiting the same set of principles but with a straightforward Norwegian wit and charm that has endeared him to the community for even longer.

His tenure on the board spanned an additional 12 years.

The duo bowed out of their roles as leaders in the NKSD prior to the November elections, both seeming to agree that it was time to move on. Time for new blood on the board.

That new blood will come in the form of Melanie Mohler and Tom Anderson. The shoes they’ll have to fill are immense.

Twenty-eight combined years is quite a spell, after all, and the experience the NKSD is losing is notable. Trying to encapsulate all that has transpired in the district during the last four years is a task in itself, multiplying that by five (let’s see, carry the two) is even more awesome.

Quite a few issues have been raised and addressed during that span and we shudder to think of how many combined hours of meetings Dick and Bethany have endured in the name of public service. Being veterans of such sessions ourselves, we can truly appreciate the commitment it represents.

Knowing these two their commitment to North Kitsap won’t end here, instead it will simply take on a new form.

We thank them both for their service and wish them the best in their new pursuits, whatever they may entail.