Snohomish picks new schools chief

By Jennifer Langston

Herald Writer

SNOHOMISH — Bill Mester, superintendent of the Mead School District near Spokane for 13 years, has been named the new superintendent of Snohomish schools.

The school board picked Mester from a field of six candidates invited to apply for the job. On Wednesday night, it unanimously approved a three-year contract to begin July 1.

Mester said he was impressed by a board that has led the school district out of difficult financial straits, classroom staff dedicated to children and administrators who have deep respect for teachers.

"I’m very pleased to be invited to be a part of your community," he said. "I really think the Snohomish School District is poised to be one of the finest school districts in the state."

Current Snohomish Superintendent Neal Powell announced last month that he would leave at the end of the school year to work for an organization in Olympia representing educational administrators. He left in part because his state retirement plan provided little financial incentive to continue working in public education after 30 years of service.

School board President Ken Housden said Mester was the best choice for the community. He will be paid a base salary of $125,804.

Mester oversaw the Mead School District, which at 8,400 students is similar in size to Snohomish, during a period of rapid growth in the Spokane suburbs.

He helped revise the district’s curriculum to meet tougher state standards, making sure lessons were taught consistently and that teachers and students had support to meet higher goals, he said.

Mester also developed a long-term building renovation plan and listened as the community debated and ultimately decided to build a second high school.

Housden said when board members talked to Mead staff, some said they would practically throw themselves in front of a train to keep him. Even parents who had opposed some of the programs he brought in said Mester was a good listener who valued diverse points of view.

Housden said Mester has tackled some of the same issues that Snohomish faces.

"What he’s done in Mead, as a district, is almost a clone of Snohomish," Housden said. "We made some promises to the voters in our levy, and we intend to keep those promises."

Mester will inherit a school district that, after suffering a financial meltdown in the late 1990s, clawed its way back to financial health.

The district made painful cuts, got out of debt and now has healthy cash reserves. Snohomish School District voters recently passed a four-year, $48.2 million maintenance and operations levy that will help the district catch up on items that had languished during lean times.

"I think with the current school board they’ve kind of righted the ship in those matters, and I’m very impressed with their leadership," Mester said.

School board members have said they want a new superintendent to carry out their top priorities: upgrading textbooks, improving classroom technology and tackling a backlog of building maintenance and repair issues.

They said they’re also interested in bringing stability to the district, which has had three superintendents leave in the past four years.

Mester said he, for one, is interested in a long-term commitment. His wife, Fran, took a job at the Monroe School District last year, and it was his turn to uproot his life for her, he said.

But the superintendent job in Snohomish was the only one he applied for.

He said in his first weeks, he wants to spend as much time as possible meeting and having conversations with as many people as possible.

"It’s been my experience that we have to spend a good amount of time working with people inside the district as well as people in the community to create a very clear picture of who we are," he said.

You can call Herald Writer Jennifer Langston at 425-339-3452

or send e-mail to langston@heraldnet.com.

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