PORT TOWNSEND — The Port Townsend School Board is expected to talk on Monday about hiring a successor for Superintendent Tom Opstad, who is heading to the other side of the Olympic Peninsula to be Aberdeen School District’s superintendent.

The Aberdeen School Board Tuesday night unanimously selected Opstad, phoned him at about 9 p.m. at his Port Townsend home and made him the offer, which Opstad accepted.

Opstad will make $140,000 a year plus benefits, compared with about $115,000 a year plus benefits in Port Townsend.

He will begin work July 1 in Aberdeen, pending contract negotiations next week.

Aberdeen is a larger district, with an enrollment of about 3,400 compared with Port Townsend’s 1,300.

Opstad said the job comes with plenty of administrative help.

“Once you get to over 3,000 students you get more help,” such as curriculum and vocational directors, Opstad said Wednesday.

He will succeed retiring Aberdeen Superintendent Marty Kay. Opstad, who will turn 56 on Monday, said he expects it will be his last job as an administrator before he retires at 62.

Opstad was chosen from four finalists, which was cut to three — including Interim Superintendent Walt Wegener of the San Juan School District, and Cascade District Superintendent Rob Clark.

In Port Townsend, School Board Chairman Bobby DuBois said he was not surprised that the Aberdeen district chose Opstad.

“I was contacted by the hiring committee for Aberdeen on Wednesday,” DuBois said.

Since Opstad will not leave until June 30, “that’s going to give us some time” to find a successor.

Search imminent

“I would expect the search to start immediately.”

DuBois said he saw it as a good move for Opstad.

“I think it’s unfortunate for Port Townsend because he was a good man,” DuBois said. “I want to just wish him well.

“But we need to remember that with change it brings good opportunities, so hopefully well be able to find a good candidate.”

DuBois said he would look for a candidate with leadership ability who “knows how to tackle budgets.”

Opstad said that he has much to do in Port Townsend before he leaves.

“We need to finish a lot of work here and plan for the budget . . . and there is a lot of policies we need to look at,” Opstad said.

Among the district’s successes during his tenure, he said, is that 10 percent of the teachers who have earned National Board Certification.

“It’s been fun to work with the staff and board in Port Townsend because they are so passionate about what they do,” he said.

He also cited student successes such as winning Mock Trial and Knowledge Bowl teams.

“One thing we need to work on is promoting the things we do well,” he said.

He lauded Port Townsend’s school system for having so many student activities, including music and theater, and the middle school connection with Centrum music and arts programs.

Opstad said he expects a similar challenge in Aberdeen’s district as he encountered in Port Townsend — “declining state funding.”

He will have just a 50-mile drive to Olympia to lobby for more school funding, he said.

While Port Townsend has seen enrollment declines, Aberdeen has seen a slight uptick after years of decline in the aftermath of the timber-industry and paper mill downturn there.

A new biodiesel plant in Aberdeen — the nation’s largest — may be one reason why, Opstad said.

________

Port Townsend-Jefferson County Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.