After spending 13 of the past 20 years on the South Whidbey School Board, Steve Scoles is stepping down.
Scoles, occupying the at-large District 4 seat, will hand over the reins to Shawn Nowlin. She is running unopposed and is guaranteed the seat following the Nov. 3 general election next week.
Scoles said there’s no particular reason why he decided not to seek re-election, just that it was “time to move on and do other things.”
“I feel like it was an honor to serve the community and that the people trusted me to be on the board,” Scoles said.
Among his accomplishments while serving on the board, from 1995-1999 and from 2006-2015, were keeping Langley Middle School from being closed and consolidated with South Whidbey High School, reorganizing the board of director districts by adding two at-large positions, and passing a $19 million bond to expand the high school and middle school.
“Our students and staff have greatly benefited from his service,” said Linda Racicot, chairwoman of the board. “He has just been a wonderful resource for our board because of his experience and we’ve certainly appreciated his dedication.”
Scoles was the only board member to oppose the consolidation of the eight-building middle school campus during the original vote in 2009. It wasn’t until 2011 when the majority swung in favor of keeping the middle school open following the election of board members Racicot and Damian Greene.
“I really fought for that and I think that’s what the community wanted,” Scoles said. “People didn’t give up.”
The district has since closed the Bayview School and relocated the alternate program to the former South Whidbey Primary School, which is now the K-12 South Whidbey Academy.
After returning to the board in 2006 after a seven-year hiatus, Scoles presented his idea for making changes to director district structures the following year, which was based on five geographical locations on South Whidbey.
By creating two at-large positions, it opened the board up so more people could participate and get on the board, Scoles said.
His work in 1994 while serving as a co-chairman on the schools bond committee led to voters approving the $19 million bond, which paid for the expansion and remodeling of the high school and middle school, as well as the new transportation and maintenance center.
While on the board, Scoles was also an active community member. He spent 19 years as a volunteer firefighter at South Whidbey Fire/EMS and also coached recreation league soccer, basketball and baseball.
Scoles said he hopes the district will work toward changing the start time at the high school.
“To start at 7:30 in the morning, it’s a hard time for teenagers to get up,” Scoles said. “We’ve been trying for years to get that later start time, to move it back an hour.”
He also felt the district will be in a precarious position after granting a raise for teachers following a strike in September. Scoles abstained from voting on the raise.
“It was between a rock and hard place,” Scoles said. “We want to give the teachers the money they deserve. But the money isn’t really there. It’s going to cause some budget hardships coming up.”
Scoles said he is looking forward to spending time with his partner traveling across the world. He listed Chile, Argentina, and Peru among his top destinations to visit.
“I will miss the interaction with the staff, the administrators and I’ll miss being part of the education community in that way,” Scoles said. “It was rewarding to be part of that and contribute something. I learned a lot more than I gave. But it was a good experience.”
Nowlin said her primary goals for her new position, which will begin when she is sworn in Nov. 18, are to increase participation among parents and community members and preserve programming by making sure there are support services surrounding students beyond just the teaching faculty.
“I’m excited,” Nowlin said. “I like the board that’s here. I’ve seen them work together really well through tough issues. I’m looking forward to working with them.”
