Lake Stevens selects new school superintendent
Published 4:00 pm Friday, April 19, 2024
LAKE STEVENS — After a months-long search, the Lake Stevens School District has found its new superintendent.
Mary Templeton, currently the superintendent in the Washougal School District, will take over from Ken Collins, who spent 34 years in the district, after he retires this summer. Her start date is July 1.
Templeton’s salary in Lake Stevens has yet to be finalized. The school board will negotiate Templeton’s contract by the end of May, district spokesperson Jayme Taylor wrote in an email.
In February, Templeton voluntarily took a $21,000 cut in salary and other compensation in Washougal due to a budget deficit, according to the Camas-Washougal Post-Record.
The search process in Lake Stevens included feedback from the school board, “district employees, students, families and community representatives,” according to a district statement.
Templeton will manage the district’s $176 million budget. Lake Stevens, with over 9,400 students, employs 1,200 staff, according to district data. The district has 11 schools and a preschool.
