By Pepper Fisher
SEQUIM – This past Monday, the Sequim School District Board of Directors acknowledged a vacancy on the board previously held by Board President Brandino Gibson, and they are now soliciting applications for a new Director.
It was an odd set of circumstances that brought this about. In the recent election, candidate Kristie Schmeck dropped out of the race too late to have her name removed from the ballot, and got the most votes anyway. At the time, it was unclear whether she would accept the position, but Board Director Jim Stoffer explains it this way.
“She notified the Board President on the 26th of November, I believe. So that left us with an unknown. How do we fill that? And that was, then asked to Brandino, because by state law, the person that’s still there, even though he didn’t run for re-election would remain unless they declined. And so he did that, and so we have 90 days to fill the position.”
Monday, January 10 at 4:30 pm is the deadline for receiving applications via mail or email. On February 7, interviews will be conducted during the regular board meeting, and on February 22, one of those candidates will be appointed to the Board.
While we had Stoffer on the phone, we asked how the search for an interim superintendent was going since the resignation of Jane Pryne.
The new Board President and Vice President are working on that and we hope to hear something soon. It’s a work in process right now.”
As for last month’s resolution calling for the censure of Stoffer following the claim that he had violated policy by revealing privileged information, Stoffer says,
“That won’t transpire. So, we’re moving forward with a new board and looking forward to the new year, the remaining school year. We were all sworn in on Monday, and that’s where we’re at.
“Okay, so you’re confident that the new board does not want to pursue this?”
“Yes.”
We spoke briefly with the new Board President Eric Pickens about the censure of Stoffer and he declined to comment.
Stoffer’s health had declined over the stress of the accusations, but he says he’s feeling better and wanted us to pass along this message.
“There are still some medical things I’m working through, but I’m grateful for the care that I received from the Veterans Administration and also my primary care medical team, which was Jamestown. And so you could put that plug in there.”
The Application for the board and additional information may be found on the District website, sequimschools.org
(Photo: Jim Stoffer)