Super Search: Pt. 1

MOSES LAKE — Monty Sabin really wants to come work in Moses Lake.

“I grew up in eastern Washington, and there's a number of things that draw me here,” Sabin said. “I wouldn't apply for this job if I didn't want to live here.”

Among those things the current assistant superintendent of the North Thurston School District in Lacey, just east of Olympia, said draws him to Moses Lake are the sun and the area’s lack of traffic. But mostly, Sabin — along with Oroville School District Superintendent Jeffrey Hardesty, was interviewed Wednesday evening as one of two finalists to become the Moses Lake School District’s next superintendent — said Eastern Washington just feels more comfortable, more like home.

“I kind of like the culture and mindset of Eastern Washington,” he said. “I know people who work here - who have worked here. And they always said really positive things about the school district. They have a lot of pride in it.”

The Moses Lake School Board is scheduled to meet Thursday to select a superintendent between the two finalists.

Sabin, 58, spoke for 45 minutes Wednesday evening during a special open house at the Moses Lake School District’s meeting and training room on Yonezawa Boulevard. He answered questions from a handful of district residents about his leadership style, how he handles difficult situation where parents and residents don’t trust the school district and how involved he would be as a superintendent in the civic life of the community.

Sabin has worked as the assistant superintendent of operations at the 14,000-student North Thurston School District, overseeing the district’s finances, Human Resource Department and support services such as transportation, food services and construction. Prior to that, Sabin worked as the superintendent of the Kittitas School District, where he grew up and graduated from high school. He has also taught and been principal in places as varied as Issaquah and Mansfield.

As a manager, Sabin said he believes in encouraging others to lead and listening to the opinions of the people who work for him. Rather, Sabin said he’s careful to go around the room and solicit everyone’s opinion and find out what people are thinking.

“If I'm in, like a setting where maybe everyone else in the room I supervise, I'm never going to tell my opinion right away,” he said. “Because if I might get my opinion right away, it just shuts down the discussion.”

He also said he wants staff to do the jobs they already know how to do.

“I’m not a micromanager. I don't like someone micromanaging, and I'm not going to do that to somebody else,” Sabin said.

Still, Sabin said there have been times as a leader he has made or been part of difficult decisions or unpopular choices, such as when the North Thurston School District redrew all of its internal boundaries. He said he believes that open communication and transparency are the best ways to keep people’s trust during a difficult time when many were angry and upset with the district.

“People have a lot of feelings and emotions about the schools their kids attend. … They weren’t trusting us, they weren’t trusting that we were doing the right thing,” Sabin said.

Because district officials continually engaged with parents and residents in meetings and community forums, Sabin said, people eventually came to believe that, even if some of the results of the process weren’t what people wanted, they could trust the people making the decisions.

“They knew why we were doing what we were doing, how we were doing it,” he said. “And so when it was finally done, I think the community trusted us more, because the final product turned out great.”

Sabin also said he intends to be involved in Moses Lake civic life. His kids are all grown, and he’s been a member of the Rotary Club for the last seven years.

“Rotarians do a lot of great service. So when you're doing those acts and things like that, you'll be happy, you know, part of the community,” he said.

Finally, Sabin said that as an administrator, while he misses working directly with kids on a day-to-day basis, he knows his job is to help those who do work directly with children do their jobs better. He also cited his support for expanding the Boys and Girls Club programs in North Thurston, noting that, as a result, the district could help more homeless students find safe places after school.

Sabin said he knows he’s able to do things that can positively affect the lives of more learners than if he was simply a teacher or even a principal.

“That makes me feel better,” he said.

Charles H. Featherstone can be reached at cfeatherstone@columbiabasinherald.com.