Peninsula school board offers unanimous recommendation for superintendent

After a search that stretched across seven months and two different school boards, the candidate for the next superintendent of Peninsula School District has been chosen.

Robert Manahan was recommended for the position of superintendent following a unanimous vote by the PSD Board of Directors at a special meeting held Monday night.

Rand Wilhelmsen, board president, said that the process felt cumbersome at times, but resulted in a thorough search and a solid selection of candidates.

“I think in the end it all came together and we made the right decision,” Wilhelmsen said. “I don’t think we could have made a wrong decision with these four candidates, but we made the right decision for our community (with Manahan).”

Manahan has been employed as the superintendent of the Lake Chelan School District since 2010.

He holds a doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from the University of Washington and has more than 30 years of educational experience. He has previous experience in the Peninsula School District including serving as a member of the planning team for Harbor Ridge Middle School, where he started his administrative career in 1992.

Manahan has previous teaching experience in the Puyallup and Peninsula school districts and administrative experience in Port Angeles and Lake Stevens.

He serves as a governing board member for the Association of American School Administrators and is the current past president for the Superintendent Advisory Council Region 171 for the 2014 to 2015 year.

Manahan is a member of several organizations including the Lake Chelan Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, the Latina/o Educational Achievement Project, the Center for Civic Education and Youth Engagement Board, Secretary for the School Information Research Services and, since 2010, has been a member of both the Lake Chelan Rotary and the Lions Club.

Manahan and his wife, Gail, have family ties to Gig Harbor and to the Peninsula School District through both their children and grandchildren, who live in the area.

Wilhelmsen said that he was surprised by the board’s unanimous agreement for Manahan because of the lengthy discussions between board members during the candidate interviews last week.

“I’m happy how it turned out,” he said. “I think (Manahan) has what we need to take us to the next level.”

The decision is currently pending acceptance from Manahan, who will be presented with the employment offer this week.

This story was originally published March 22, 2016 at 11:14 AM with the headline "Peninsula school board offers unanimous recommendation for superintendent."