Board names superintendent finalist

SANDPOINT — Although Lake Pend Oreille School District board members planned on selecting three superintendent candidates, only one made the cut.

Members chose Shawn Woodward to visit the district for a day of meetings and interviews this Tuesday. District staff will meet the candidate at 3:45 p.m., while community members have a chance to do the same at 5:30 p.m.

The interviews will take place in the Farmin Stidwell Elementary commons.

According to school board vice chair Mindy Cameron, members were impressed with his 20 years of education experience and the level of composure displayed during a Skype interview with the district’s search consultant, Dennis Ray.

“He just seems to be the whole package,” she said.  

Most recently, Woodward worked as the assistant superintendent of North Kitsap School District in Poulsbo, Wash., which serves 6,400 students. Prior to that, he was principal of kindergarten through eighth grade schools in Burlington-Edison School District in northern Washington. He also served as an elementary and middle school teacher. Woodward is a graduate of Washington State University and is married with three children age 15, 13 and 11.

Woodward’s day of interviews will begin by meeting the board, followed by a series of meetings with leadership teams. After the staff session, the board will conduct an official interview of their own. The community meeting will cap off the interview period, and the day will conclude less strenuously with a meal between board members and Woodward’s family.

“We are looking forward to meeting Shawn in person to assess whether he is a good fit and to get community feedback,” Cameron said. “And, of course, he will be assessing all of us.”  

The school board ended up with only one candidate selected after a thorough evaluation of all applicants. In the beginning, members’ expectations were buoyed by strong early interest. However, as the process continued on, many applicants found other jobs and withdrew. In the end, board members unanimously agreed that only Woodward possessed both the necessary professional qualifications and desired personality traits for the job.

However, he still has a few hurdles to clear before gaining board approval. Just as important, he needs to feel that the position is a good fit for him.

“We want to stress that this isn’t a done deal,” Cameron said.

If Woodward doesn’t land the job, board members have a few contingencies at their disposal. They can go back to the application process, or if time is running short, they can establish an interim superintendent for a year, buying them time to find a permanent replacement.