Edmonds School District announces 3 superintendent finalists

  • By Sharon Salyer Herald Writer
  • Wednesday, March 23, 2016 4:13pm
  • Local News
Kris McDuffy

Kris McDuffy

The Edmonds School District has announced the names of the three finalists to be its new superintendent.

They are Deb Clemens, superintendent of 4,500-student Cheney Public Schools; Kris McDuffy, superintendent of the 5,300-student Arlington Public Schools; and Chrys Sweeting, assistant superintendent of instruction, learning, curriculum and assessment for the 21,000-student Puyallup School District.

Susan Phillips, school board president, announced the finalists in an email to staff.

The Edmonds School District, with an enrollment of 20,683 students, is the largest in Snohomish County and the 11th-largest school district in the state.

Whomever is chosen will be the district’s second female superintendent. Susan Torrens served as the Edmonds School District superintendent from 1997 to 1999, according to Amanda Ralston, a school district spokeswoman.

Clemens completed her doctorate and master’s degrees at Gonzaga University and received her bachelor’s from Viterbo University in LaCrosse, Wisconsin.

Clemens has been with the Cheney School District since 1997 and was principal at Cheney High School. She was appointed superintendent of Cheney Public Schools in 2012.

McDuffy has been superintendent of the Arlington Public Schools since 2008. She earned her master’s and bachelor’s degrees at Western Washington University and a doctorate at Seattle University. She previously was a principal and superintendent in the Lakewood School District.

Sweeting served as a principal intern, administrative assistant, assistant principal and principal in the Federal Way and Puyallup school districts. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Central Washington University and her master’s and doctorate degrees from the university of Washington.

Each candidate will tour schools and meet with staff and administrators for a day between March 28-30.

A community forum, where the public can ask questions of the candidates and provide comments to the school board, is scheduled from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. March 31 at Mountlake Terrace High School’s theater. The meeting also will be streamed live on the Internet at www.edmonds.wednet.edu/ESDlive.

The three finalists were selected from a group of six semifinalists. Eighteen people applied for the position.

Superintendent Nick Brossoit announced in December that he would leave the district at the end of the school year.

Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486; salyer@heraldnet.com.

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