Seattle School Board votes to make interim superintendent Dr. Larry Nyland permanent

(Dr. Larry Nyland, photographed in High Point by WSB’s Patrick Sand on December 1st)
At a special meeting tonight, the Seattle School Board voted 5-2 to make interim Superintendent Dr. Larry Nyland permanent. Here’s the announcement from the district:

The Seattle School Board has selected Dr. Larry Nyland as the permanent superintendent for Seattle Public Schools. Nyland has held the interim role since last summer. The 5-2 vote, allows Board President Sherry Carr to negotiate a new contract with Nyland, which the board will vote on January 7, 2015. If approved, Nyland’s contract would be extended through June 17, and would switch from interim to permanent at the end of June 2015.

“I have chosen to evaluate Dr. Nyland not only on his last 17 weeks in Seattle Public Schools, but his past 40 years in education,” said Sherry Carr, Seattle School Board President, applauding his career successes and need for stability in the district.

“We have a lot of work to do to support systems, and to better support students, said Interim Superintendent Dr. Larry Nyland. “I look forward to working with them. Thank you.”

This stirred some controversy in advance because instead of conducting a search, or at least announcing they would not do a search, the board revealed the proposed hire via a meeting agenda published just before the long Thanksgiving weekend. Dr. Nyland appeared at a previously scheduled forum in West Seattle the following Monday (WSB coverage here); just before that forum, the district announced it would move the hiring vote back one week, to tonight, to give the public a chance to comment.

2 Replies to "Seattle School Board votes to make interim superintendent Dr. Larry Nyland permanent"

  • brandon December 11, 2014 (7:40 am)

    Is Seattle Public Schools better off today than it was 17 weeks ago? There really wasn’t any other viable candidates out there worth interviewing? Way to be transparent SPS.

  • Alisha December 11, 2014 (10:05 pm)

    I am a teacher in the Marysville School District and was throughout Dr. Nyland’s entire term as superintendent. He is a caring, genuine man with an extensive background and experience in moving children, schools, and entire districts forward toward a more successful future. Anyone who knows him and works with him for even a short period of time would come to see that his intentions and decisions are noble and that he consistently puts the needs of children first. The families of the Seattle School District are fortunate to have him.

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