Clemens chosen as North Thurston superintendent

North Thurston Public Schools’ next superintendent, Debra “Deb” Clemens, has a doctorate in education and a master’s degree in business administration.

And she has children who will attend schools in the district, which is something Thurston County’s largest school system hasn’t experienced in a while.

“I have to say, when I met the staff on Tuesday, I was so inspired by their passion to serve all children,” said Clemens, 51, who has been superintendent of the 4,500-student Cheney district since 2012. “And I thought, ‘I would love to have my own kids here.’ ”

In fact, Clemens was in the middle of a quintessential soccer mom moment when the job offer came in.

“I was driving Lizzie to her soccer game,” she said with a chuckle. “Lizzie and friends.”

On Saturday morning, after about 90 minutes in executive session, the North Thurston School Board opened a public meeting and conducted a roll-count vote on its selection for the district’s next superintendent.

They voted unanimously 5-0 to offer the job to Clemens, pending acceptance of a mutually agreeable contract. Raj Manhas, who has been at the helm in the North Thurston district since 2009, is retiring June 30.

“Altogether, we believe that she was a very strong candidate,” School Board president Aaron Owada said after the meeting. “She has the values that are commensurate with the values that we have in North Thurston. We believe she will be able to take our district … to the next greater level.”

Clemens and her husband Jeff have two daughters, Katie, 14, and Lizzie, 10.

She has a bachelor’s degree from Viterbo University, a master’s in business administration and a doctorate in philosophy from Gonzaga University. Before she was a superintendent, she worked in instructional technology, human resources and was a business teacher.

Clemens said she grew up in Wisconsin, and has never lived west of the Cascade mountains. She said she’s impressed with North Thurston’s community support, and believes the district will be a good fit for her leadership skills and her family.

Her husband is an account manager for SuperValu, which has a regional office in Tacoma.

“My husband’s career is the reason we were looking within the region on the west side,” said Clemens. She also was a finalist for a superintendent job in the Edmonds School District. “He’s been traveling for the past year and a half.”

In the upcoming weeks, she said she plans to work with Manhas and other North Thurston staff to develop a transition plan. Her contract will begin July 1.

“The goal is to make it seamless for staff and students,” she said.

Lacey Mayor Andy Ryder said he was impressed by all three of the finalists who toured the district and met with teachers, staff and community members last week.

“I would have been excited to work with any of them,” he said.

But the North Thurston High School alumnus said he was happy to hear Clemens was the board’s choice.

“She’s going to be the first woman superintendent in the history of North Thurston Public Schools, which is really cool,” Ryder said.

This story was originally published March 26, 2016 at 4:50 PM with the headline "Clemens chosen as North Thurston superintendent."