The Board met in executive session for more than three hours Thursday afternoon and evening deliberating who to hire from among three finalists. Minutes after closing the executive session, the board reconvened in public at 7:20 to announce their choice. The meeting adjourned at 7: 24pm.
The meeting had been scheduled for 6:15 pm, following a 4:00 pm executive session to discuss hiring a new superintendent. But, shortly before 6 pm, the School Board said they were continuing to meet and would hold the 6:15 meeting at 6:45. Then at around 6:15, they announced they were still meeting in executive session and would push the open meeting to 7:15 pm, leaving some to wonder if the School Board was having difficulty agreeing on a final selection.
In announcing the selection, School Board President Jeannette Papadakis said the district was fortunate to have three finalists who each would have made a good superintendent.
The Board had sifted through applications and narrowed the finalist list down to three last week. Earlier this week, each of the finalists spend one day touring the four schools, meeting with Board members and stakeholders, and finally, met the public in open meeting each evening.
During his appearance Monday night, Wenzel said that he's part of what he called an incredible journey to be part of public education. "No other public entity has so much impact on lives and society," he said. He added, "If we can we contribute, we can have a tremendous impact on lots of children."
Outgoing Superintendent Borgen has led the Anacortes School District since 2005.