EVERETT — The Everett School Board approved a 10-month contract Tuesday evening with Karst Brandsma, making the deputy superintendent the district’s new interim superintendent.
He will be paid the equivalent of a $175,656 annual salary, plus benefits, including $500 a month to use his vehicle for work travel.
Brandsma is taking over for Superintendent Carol Whitehead, who is retiring early, due in part to a death threat she received in April.
Brandsma’s contract begins when Whitehead retires Sept. 1.
“I’m honored and humbled to have been chosen to lead Everett Public Schools,” he said Tuesday night. “This district has an outstanding record of improving student learning and we have an extraordinarily supportive community that cares about students. I think our staff is very professional and dedicated and I look forward to starting the job.”
The three board members present at Tuesday’s meeting — Kristie Dutton, Sue Cooper and Ed Petersen — voted unanimously to approve the contract.
The president of the district’s teacher union had previously expressed concern over the appointment because of Brandsma’s role in placing a surveillance camera in a classroom in 2007.
Brandsma has been with the 18,500-student school district for seven years. He was hired as an associate superintendent and promoted to deputy superintendent.
Brandsma currently earns $158,693 a year as deputy superintendent. Whitehead receives $183,615 annually.
The school board hasn’t yet decided how to proceed with the search for a new superintendent.
Reporter Kaitlin Manry: 425-339-3292 or kmanry@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.