Hours after Seattle Public Schools classes ended for the year on Wednesday, the School Board met to appoint chief operating officer Fred Podesta as acting superintendent, at least until September 3. That’s the originally scheduled date that Dr. Brent Jones was supposed to end his tenure, but he’s on medical leave that is expected to last through the remainder of his time with the district. Documents in the agenda from last night’s special meeting of the School Board, at which the appointment was made, note that the COO is designated backup for the superintendent anyway. Podesta has been with the district for six and a half years. As for a new permanent superintendent, the district is still in the “community engagement” phase; a survey is open for another 10 days, and a variety of “engagement sessions” are scheduled (none in West Seattle, but some are online) – go here for the links to all that.

P.S. The district is taking applications through July 31; here’s the job listing.