Soap Lake considers superintendent finalists
Kimberly Casey, left, and Thomas Jay, right, are finalists in the search for a new Soap Lake School District superintendent. The district's board of directors is considering which, if either, to hire for the role which was made empty by the resignation of former Superintendent Sunshine Pray.
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SOAP LAKE - The Soap Lake School Board is considering two candidates for the open position of Soap Lake School District Superintendent.
Over the course of two days, the Soap Lake School Board held a series of open meetings to allow members of the community to meet the two candidates and ask questions. There were index cards for attendees to write questions on and submit throughout the meetings as well as review sheets for the board to get the opinion of the community on each candidate.
The first day, May 2, was an opportunity for district residents to meet Kimberly Casey. Casey is currently the Grandview High School Principal and has held the position since January 2016. She completed her superintendent certification program through Washington State University in April.
“My goals as the new superintendent of the Soap Lake School District involve open and transparent communication while providing a safe learning environment where each student is given the opportunity to be their very best,” wrote Casey in an email to the Columbia Basin Herald. “This will be done through a commitment to providing leadership, professional development and accountability for students, staff and families that will result in a high functioning school system.”
The second day, May 3, was Thomas Jay, who holds the superintendent and principal position at the Skykomish School District. He has held those positions since 2016.
“If selected as Soap Lake School District's next Superintendent my main goals would be: Build community trust, transparency, communication, and strengthen engagement in our school; carry out the needs, objectives and priorities of the school district as outlined in the district’s existing strategic plan and facilities plan to ensure student academic rigor and excellence; and Identify the district’s strengths, improvement opportunities and challenges,” wrote Jay via email.
Board President and Interim Superintendent Curt Dotson said that since the previous superintendent, Sunshine Pray, resigned with such short notice in early March, that it put Soap Lake School District late in the game to find and hire a new superintendent. He explained that a lot of school districts started their search at the beginning of the school year so Soap Lake jumping in six months later puts them at a disadvantage.
He said while this search was really quick, the most important thing is to find the right fit for the district. The person selected for the position would tentatively start at the beginning of the 2022-23 school year.
At the second day’s meeting, Dotson said he personally read through every single review sheet submitted for the first candidate and that he would for the second candidate as well.
Dotson said he expects the school board to have a decision relatively quickly, even possibly by the next regularly scheduled school board meeting.
A special meeting was scheduled for the board to hold an executive session on May 5 to discuss the candidates with a possible motion to hire as a result of the session.
Results of this meeting were not available by press time but will be published in our next edition.
Rebecca Pettingill may be reached at rpettingill@columbiabasinherald.com.