Former PHS principal, Eatonville school leader are finalists for Peninsula superintendent
A former principal of Peninsula High School and the superintendent of the school district in Eatonville are finalists for the position of Peninsula School District superintendent.
After interviewing five candidates, the Peninsula School Board selected Krestin Bahr, the current superintendent of the Enumclaw School District, and Tim Winter, superintendent at neighboring South Kitsap and a former principal at Peninsula High School.
Winter took part in a followup interview with community questions on Tuesday and Bahr took part in her own on Wednesday.
The current Peninsula superintendent, Art Jarvis, is retiring in June. The school board made its selection after a series of in-person interviews Saturday, March 14 at Pioneer Elementary.
The other candidates were Dana Rosenbach of North Mason; Heidi Harris, assistant superintendent of of the Auburn School District, and John Harrison, chief of staff of the Bellevue School District.
Each candidate was provided 50 minutes to make their case in interviews streamed on the district’s YouTube channel.
The board is set to announce its choice for superintendent on Friday, March 19 after another round of interviews with the two finalists sometime this coming week. The board will then finalize the contract at its regular meeting on Thursday, March 25. The selected individual will then officially assume the job on July 1.
Here is a look at the two finalists:
Krestin Bahr
Bahr has been the superintendent for Eatonville since 2013. Prior to that, she was director of secondary education for middle schools in the Tacoma School District.
In her interview, Bahr pointed to her time in Tacoma as evidence that she was adept at strategic planning and that her time in Eatonville was a time of transformation. Specifically, she said that she was responsible for implementing STEM programs throughout the district.
Bahr received a bachelors in biological science from Pacific Lutheran University in 1985. Since then, she has received a master of education degree from City University and a superintendent certification from Washington State University.
Bahr said she would continue to follow health guidelines meant to stop the spread of COVID-19.
Despite the shift to remote learning, Bahr said she worked hard to maintain a connection with families in her district however she could.
“I decided as a superintendent I still wanted this connection with families,” Bahr said. “I started to do a read-aloud and (continued) doing that until we opened up schools.” Bahr said “communication is key” during times of crisis like a pandemic and highlighted her attempts at outreach from social media to a newsletter for families.
“Equity and inclusion and diversity has really been my life,” Bahr said. “It is looking at systems to see who is doing well and who is not doing well.” Bahr said that requires looking at the data about markers like graduation rates to see if specific groups of students are falling behind.
According to a story in The Dispatch of Eatonville, Bahr had previously been one of the finalists for the superintendent position in the Tumwater school district in 2019. However, she removed her name from the running before the process could be completed.
At that time, Bahr had sent a letter to her staff saying that “I found myself thinking of the unfinished work here and what I would be leaving behind, along with how much I am invested in Eatonville.”
Tim Winter
Winter is the current superintendent of the South Kitsap School District, where he has served since 2019. Prior to that, he was the superintendent for the Clarkston School District from 2014 to 2019. He is a former principal of Peninsula High School
Winter received a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Eastern Washington University, a masters in curriculum and instruction from City University as well an administrative credential and principal’s professional certification. He then received his superintendent’s certification from Washington State University.
When Winter joined South Kitsap, he had told the Kitsap Sun that he had planned to stick around in the district.
“My long-term priorities are to be here for the long haul and see some things through, really, because it’s where I want to be. It’s where my family wants to be,” Winter said at the time. “It feels right. It’s the right place to be.”
In his interview Saturday, Winter walked through his change of plans.
“So why apply for another job this quickly? When we move to something, we’re either moving away from or we’re moving towards. I’m not moving away from South Kitsap. It’s been a great experience so far, we’re doing a lot of great work there and I’m very happy there,” Winter said. “However, what I would like to do is move towards Peninsula.”
In an email to his current staff and teachers obtained by the Kitsap Daily News, Winter offered reassurance about his potential departure.
“I have been offered an interview and will proceed in the process,” he told his staff. “While I wouldn’t apply if I didn’t want the job in Peninsula, I feel like I am in a situation where no matter what happens, I will be at peace with where I land.”
Winter acknowledged that the timing may not be perfect, but that he still had to do it rather than live with regrets.
“I guess you could argue the timing is not right,” Winter said. “But what I don’t want to do is live with any regrets and I felt like if I didn’t apply, regardless of what happened, I may have some regrets down the road.”
Winter said that his time in South Kitsap has allowed for him to grow as a leader and set him up well for this position. He said that his current district had needed leadership and that there had been multiple years of strategic planning that hadn’t gone anywhere until he got them back on track.
Asked about concerns about equity, Winter said “we’ve got to figure out ways to love each other and treat each other with respect.” He said he would work to form a group to tackle these problems.
“I think it would be important to work with union groups and community groups to form an action group that will really work on this idea of equity,” Winter said. “If you look across the Gig Harbor and Key Peninsula, there are equity issues. I think they’re only going to increase.”
Winter has worked in the district before, as principal at Peninsula High School from 2007 to 2014. He said he would work to do outreach with the community and that he has already begun to build up relationships if he were to return.
“I think it is important that the superintendent be out and connecting with the community,” Winter said. “The visibility factor is really critical.”
The three remaining candidates were John Harrison, Heidi Harris and Dana Rosenbach.
▪ John Harrison is the current interim chief of staff at the Bellevue School District. He has also been the executive director of schools since 2011. Before that, he was the principal of Mercer Island High School from 2005 to 2011.
▪ Heidi Harris currently serves as the assistant superintendent for the Auburn School District, a position she has held since 2013. Prior to that, she was the executive director of K-8 student learning in the district.
▪ Dana Rosenbach is the current superintendent for the North Mason School District, a position she has held since 2014. Prior to that, she was the executive director of leadership and learning in Longview Public Schools from 2001 to 2014.
This story was originally published March 13, 2021 at 6:12 PM.
