The Bainbridge Island School Board voted 4 to 1 Monday to make an offer to Peter Bang-Knudsen for district superintendent. Lynn Smith, who was not present at the meeting, cast a proxy vote for Steve Matthews.

The board said that it became clear during a six-hour deliberation, held last Wednesday, that the two candidates were the best fit to lead the district.

Bang-Knudsen, who currently serves as the associate superintendent of administrative services, was lauded for his leadership, innovation, and ability to make tough decisions. Directors described how some initial reservations about the candidate – that he was a “yes” man and might not be able to stand his ground – were overturned during the interview process. “I saw a side of Peter that I do not see on a daily basis,” board president Mev Hoberg said.

Matthews, while described by the directors as “student-focused” and “an outstanding communicator,” was not the entire package. Hoberg expressed concern with his limited experience with options programs and “good ideas” that were already being implemented here. Sheila Jakubik thought he didn’t connect well with the public at the community forum and Mike Spence, who initially “loved him,” became unsettled with his behavior during the lockdown at Bainbridge High School.

The directors agreed that Michael Tolley and Molly Evans were both strong candidates but felt they lacked key experience. Molly Evans was “personable” and effective at the community forum, but her dearth of collective bargaining knowledge – Arizona is a right-to-work state – and the absence of a high school in her district were problems for Hoberg and Spence. Kinkead pointed out the size disparity between Tolley’s Seattle district – serving 50,000 students – and BISD – serving 3,700; contextual difference matters, he said. Elaborating, Spence added: here, “a superintendent needs to be nimble and quick… he didn’t strike me as that kind of guy.”

The superintendent search process began in earnest last November, after Faith Chapel announced she would step down at the end of the school year. Jakubik said that the board relied heavily upon the Emerging Leadership Profile developed by Atlantic Research Partners to evaluate the candidates. Besides conducting a two-day interview, during which candidates met countless stakeholders, including students, staff and community members, and toured facilities, her team also asked members of BIESPA, BIEA and administrators to contact their counterparts in other districts and solicit references for each candidate. “There was no foregone conclusion on who would be hired,” Jakubik said.