Kenai Peninsula Borough Superintendent John O’Brien (courtesy photo)

Kenai Peninsula Borough Superintendent John O’Brien (courtesy photo)

School board to interview superintendent candidates

The new superintendent, who will replace Superintendent John O’Brien, will begin serving on July 1.

The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education will interview three finalists aiming to take over the role of district superintendent at the beginning of next week.

The district will host 30-minute virtual meet and greets with the candidates on Monday and will publicly interview candidates on Tuesday.

The board will consider application and resume packets from Dr. Jason R. Johnson, Clayton Holland and Janelle Vanasse.

Dr. Jason Johnson holds a Doctor of Education from Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville and currently serves as the superintendent of the Dillingham City School District. Johnson has also worked at the Yukon-Koyukuk School District and as an Advanced Placement Programs Coordinator in the Dominican Republic, and previously served in the Indiana National Guard.

Clayton Holland holds a Master of Education from the University of Alaska Anchorage and currently serves as assistant superintendent of instruction for the Kenai Peninsula School District. Holland has also served as the director of Student Support Services and the assistant director of Student Support Services at KPBSD.

Janelle Vanasse holds a Master of Education from the University of Alaska Anchorage and currently serves the superintendent at Mt. Edgecumbe High School, a public boarding school in Sitka. According to her resume, Vanasse is expected to graduate in May with a Doctorate of Education from Gonzaga University.

Virtual meet and greets with the candidates will take place beginning Monday at 10 a.m. Each meet and greet will last for 45 minutes.

The Board of Education will publicly interview the three candidates on Tuesday beginning at 10:15 a.m. via Zoom. The Board of Education’s special meeting will begin at 10 a.m.

Following the virtual meet and greets on Monday, members of the public will be able to submit feedback to the board via an online survey that will be available on the district’s website starting Monday. The survey will close at 8 a.m. on Tuesday.

The new superintendent, who will replace Superintendent John O’Brien, will begin serving on July 1.

People who are unable to stream either event live will be able to view recordings of the meet-and-greet sessions and the interviews on the district website after the fact.

More information can be found at communications.blogs.kpbsd.k12.ak.us.

Reach reporter Ashlyn O’Hara at ashlyn.ohara@peninsulaclarion.com.

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