Evergreen Public Schools Superintendent John Steach may soon be stepping down. At a special meeting Monday morning, the district’s board of directors announced it is negotiating a possible resignation.
An Evergreen Public Schools Board of Directors meeting on Aug. 14, 2018.
Molly Solomon / OPB
The district says it’s having ongoing discussions about Steach’s exit plan and whether he would receive his annual salary of $242,584 as part of a severance package.
The news of Steach’s departure was unexpected. The southwest Washington district posted a special board meeting agenda over the weekend to discuss an employee in executive session and possibly accept the superintendent’s resignation.
Steach was appointed as superintendent in August 2017, after former longtime Evergreen Superintendent John Deeder retired. Prior to that, Steach worked as the district’s deputy superintendent for three years and was the superintendent for the Canby School District in Oregon. Before entering education, he was a former engineer and worked at the Hanford Nuclear Site for 17 years.
The district has given no explanation but spokesperson Gail Spolar says the decision is a personnel matter.
“The Board understands there is significant interest in this matter, however since it is a personnel matter, there are no additional details available at this time,” Spolar wrote in an emailed statement.
The board may take up the issue at Tuesday’s scheduled board meeting.
In the meantime, they’ve appointed chief operating officer Mike Merlino as the acting Interim Superintendent.