North Thurston School Board to meet about finalists for top job

North Thurston School Board is scheduled to meet and go into executive session at 10 a.m. Saturday to discuss qualifications of the three finalists in contention to be the district’s next superintendent.

After the closed-door meeting at 305 College St. NE in Lacey, the board will reconvene in public session for “consideration of action regarding finalists,” according to a meeting announcement.

All three candidates toured North Thurston Public Schools and met with teachers, school staff and community members during the past week.

The School Board thought it was important to speed up the process in hiring a replacement for retiring superintendent Raj Manhas, according to district spokeswoman Courtney Schrieve.

“There are a lot of (districts) searching for superintendents right now, and they wanted to make sure they had a competitive edge,” she said.

The finalists are Alexa “Lexi” Cunningham, superintendent of Tolleson Union High School District near Phoenix, Arizona; Debra “Deb” Clemens, superintendent of the Cheney Public Schools near Spokane; and Patrick Murphy, assistant superintendent of Edmonds School District in Snohomish County.

Clemens is one of three finalists for the top job in the Edmonds School District as well, and Cunningham is one of six finalists interviewing for a superintendent position in Rogers Public Schools in Arkansas.

Manhas has been at North Thurston’s helm since 2009.

This story was originally published March 25, 2016 at 12:42 PM with the headline "North Thurston School Board to meet about finalists for top job."