PORT TOWNSEND — The assistant superintendent of a school district near the Canadian border is the next Port Townsend School District superintendent.
With a unanimous vote Thursday during a special meeting, the School Board selected Thomas Opstad of Lynden, north of Bellingham.
The action completes the seven-month search for the successor to retiring Superintendent Carol Andreasen, who served as Port Townsend’s top school administrator for six years and retires in June.
“I am honored to be selected,” Opstad, 50, said during a phone interview Thursday shortly after he was hired.
He had learned of the offer during contract negotiations Tuesday.
The board last week selected Opstad as a finalist along with another candidate, Yoshihiro Roy Okamoto, an assistant superintendent with the Bremerton School District.
“We had two exceptional people,” said Board Member John Eissinger. “It was an especially difficult decision.”
The board deliberated for more than 90 minutes to finally agree on a final candidate.
“We felt that Tom fit our needs better than Roy did,” said Loren Monroe, Port Townsend School District board chairman.
“Tom has more experience in improving (Washington Assessment of Student Learning) test scores, while Roy had more of an institutional background.”
Opstad officially begins work July 1.
