Puyallup School District names new superintendent
The Puyallup School Board voted in a new superintendent Friday morning.
John Polm Jr., superintendent of Port Townsend School District, will oversee the second-largest Pierce County school district.
“We felt that what we gathered from the community is that this community needs to come together honest and sincere and calming, and we found that in Dr. Polm,” board president Kathy Yang said after the 4-1 vote.
Polm has headed Port Townsend since 2016 after working as principal at Bremerton High School for six years. Polm holds a bachelor’s degree in music from the University of Puget Sound, a master’s degree of education from Eastern Washington University and a doctorate of education from Seattle Pacific University.
Polm will replace Tim Yeomans as head of the 23,000-student school district. Yeomans will continue to be paid as a consultant on an as-needed basis until July. He will continue to be paid his salary, which is $319,092 annually, according to 2017-2018 News Tribune salary archive.
President of the Puyallup Education Association, Karen McNamara, said she is excited for the breath of fresh air. For the union, her ideal superintendent is someone who listens, is transparent and honest.
“I like the things that the people who work for him said,” McNamara told The Herald. “We need to get our district back together and move forward for our kids. It’s time.”
The Puyallup School District was disrupted by a teachers strike for higher wages and has been dealing with larger class sizes. The teachers’ union also rebuked Yeomans with a vote of no confidence and did not support a 2019 $273 million construction bond that failed.
Yang said the board’s top priority in a candidate was a compassionate listener who can bring people together.
“That’s really what we need, someone to help people heal from the recent rifts,” Yang told The Herald last month.
First impressions of Polm is that he is nice and sincere, which is what makes him so approachable, Yang said. The board also wanted someone who could make “tough decisions” and work collaboratively with elected board members, she said.
“The question was can he make tough decisions like budget cuts and prioritizing programs, and I wanted to make sure he was strong,” Yang said, “What I heard from references and people who worked with him is that he does not run from that.”
Board member Turan Kayaoglu cast the sole vote against Polm. He said while he felt Polm was the right candidate, he wanted someone who is going to face the many challenges of a growing district.
The search for a new superintendent began nine months ago with discussions and focus groups of staff, students and teachers.
Polm is still under contract with Port Townsend, but has a start date of July 1, a Puyallup press release said. The board will vote on Polm’s contract at the Feb. 3 board meeting.
This story was originally published January 31, 2020 at 11:38 AM.
