Bill Eagle to serve as Wenatchee interim Superintendent

During their regular meeting on Tuesday, May 10 the Wenatchee School Board voted to approve a contract with the North Central Educational Services District (NCESD) for interim superintendent services. Under the agreement, Bill Eagle, NCESD Associate Director of Student Success and Learning has been assigned to serve as Wenatchee’s interim superintendent while the Board searches for a replacement for Dr. Paul Gordon. The move to assign Eagle to the post comes just weeks after Gordon announced his resignation. Gordon's last day will be June 30, 2022.

During the meeting, NCESD Superintendent Dr. Michelle Price announced that Eagle had been selected from qualified candidates within the NCESD to support Wenatchee during the transition. Eagle has a connection with the Wenatchee School District as a former classroom teacher and principal at Columbia Elementary. Given the unique circumstances of timing in the hiring season and the availability of a qualified applicant pool, the NCESD is able to offer an opportunity for WSD to continue moving forward with current initiatives with minimal disruption to the system and maintain focus on facilitating a quality search process for a permanent replacement. In the last several years, NCESD has provided superintendent services to other districts in the region. Wenatchee will be the largest district that the NCESD has supported. 

“We are extremely fortunate to have the NCESD give us this opportunity, and I believe this is the right move that puts the needs of the Wenatchee School District first,” said School Board President Martin Barron.  

Eagle’s service as full-time interim superintendent will begin on July 1, 2022, and conclude on June 30, 2023. At the end of his term, Eagle will return to his position with the NCESD. As interim the Board expects Eagle to maintain organizational momentum, promote existing plans and establish relationships with staff and the community. The Board recently approved a new strategic plan which goes into effect this fall.

The Board plans to start the search for a new superintendent in July with a request for proposals from professional search firms.  It is expected that the search process will take most of the 2022-2023 school year with the selection of a new superintendent in the spring of 2023.