Shelton school hires Tekoa superintendent

Tekoa’s superintendent for the last five years has been hired as superintendent for the Shelton School District north of Olympia.

Wayne Massie will be leaving the district of 200 students for a district of 4,000 students. In an interview with the Gazette Monday, Massie said he is looking forward to the responsibilities of a bigger district.

His move was announced at a Tekoa school board meeting Feb. 22.

High school Principal Wayne Roellich said the school board will next open up the position of superintendent and begin taking applications. He credited Massie with being a good leader.

“He was an effective leader and helped us earn our national blue ribbon award this year. The last three years we’ve been recognized for a lot of different awards for the state,” Roellich said.

Massie’s job in Shelton will entail traditional superintendent duties like working closely with the school board and developing a district-wide budget. Massie said he anticipated guiding the Shelton district through a period that could include funding cuts from the state.

“We don’t know what the next biennium budget is going to look like,” Massie said.

He was chosen from among four finalists for the post and will begin work July 1.

Massie has worked for the Tekoa school district for the past five years. Because of the state education budget cuts, he took on the role of elementary principal over the past two years. He lives in the Spokane Valley with his wife Grace and one child.

Massie said he liked working closely with other school staff members in the Tekoa district. The community of Tekoa is particularly nurturing toward the school, he said, and that warmth made his job even better.

“This is a great community. They are very supportive of their schools,” he said.

Shelton has a high school in the 4A classification, one junior high and three elementary schools.

Originally from Curlew, Massie has a Masters degree from EWU and took his superintendent studies at Western Washington University.

Before he came to Tekoa, he was an administrator at the Ferndale School District for 15 years, serving as a principal at two junior high schools within the district.