Eldon Allen will serve as interim principal of Gateway Middle School this year after Cathy Woods moved on to be principal of Cascade High School.
Elizabeth Nunes, assistant principal, will stay in that job at the school. Another newspaper mistakenly wrote that Nunes was leaving, but that’s not so, said Mary Waggoner, spokesperson for the Everett School District.
The district opted to hire Allen as an interim to buy more time to hire someone permanent.
“We wanted to do a good year-long search for the right person,” Waggoner said.
In spring, when people start announcing they’re leaving, it can have a domino effect, she said.
“Then the later you are in the hiring season — sometimes it’s best to put someone in an interim position (who you) know (will) do a good job,” Waggoner said.
Allen was interim principal at Heatherwood Middle School for the first two-thirds of last year while principal Greg Gelderman was on leave. After Gelderman returned, Allen was assistant principal half-time at Penny Creek Elementary and half-time at Cedar Wood Elementary.
The year before that, he was interim principal at Woodside Elementary.
Allen retired three years ago from the Stanwood-Camano School District after 24 years as a principal and administrator there.
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