Longtime educator and council member Mark Westley hired as White Pass interim superintendent

Mark Westley, former Centralia City Council member and a longtime educator, announced Friday that he had accepted the interim superintendent position with the White Pass School District.

Westley said he signed his contract on Thursday. His first day will be Monday, April 20.

"I'm incredibly humbled and excited for the opportunity to serve the students, staff, and communities the rest of this school year and the next!" Westley said on Facebook.

Westley takes over the position from Angela Bowen, who was named acting superintendent following former superintendent Greggery Teel's arrest on suspicion of possessing and distributing child sexual abuse material in January.

Bowen is the district's business manager.

Westley was one of three finalists to interview for the interim position, along with Michael Murphy and Charles Wyborney.

Each candidate attended a campus tour and various meetings last month, including a community forum, according to the school district.

Westley served as a Centralia council member from January 2021 through 2025, after he was first appointed to fill a vacancy following Peter Abbarno's election as a state representative.

Westley has held many roles in education, most recently as the assistant principal and CTE director at W.F. West High School during the 2023-24 school year. Before that, he spent three years as a high school English teacher with the Adna School District.

Perhaps most notably, Westley spent over two decades as a middle school math teacher with the Centralia School District.

Westley said in his Friday announcement that it was his father's birthday, calling it a "super emotional day."

He said his father would have been 87.

"He passed in 2019. I miss him," Westley said. "He would have been proud of me."

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This story was originally published April 18, 2026 at 11:24 AM.