Approaching the end of her contract with the Washougal School District, Superintendent Dawn Tarzian says she will retire when this school year is over.
Tarzian, 59, first shared the news with other district leaders at a Tuesday night board meeting just after the first special election results were released for Washougal’s construction bond measure. The district then publicized the news Wednesday.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the $57.7 million bond measure was passing by a slim margin, sitting about seven-tenths of a percentage point above the necessary 60 percent approval threshold. The measure — which would fund the construction of a new elementary school and replacements for Jemtegaard Middle School and Excelsior High School — is likely to become Tarzian’s legacy with the district.
But regardless of whether it maintains enough support as the final votes are counted, Tarzian said she planned to announce her retirement that night anyway.
“I knew that either way, there was a new chapter,” she said. “I thought that this was a natural time for there to be a new leadership chapter.”
The district is working with a firm to conduct a nationwide search for a new superintendent, who will start in July. If the bond measure passes, Tarzian’s successor would ideally stay with the district through the 2018-19 school year to oversee the rollout of the district’s expanding facilities.
Tarzian came to the district in 2011 after a six-year stint as a superintendent in Corvallis, Ore. In all, she has 37 years of experience in education, including time as a principal, a teacher and a curriculum director.
She looks back on her experience in Washougal as a valuable leadership opportunity, and despite spending only about four years there, the small city still feels like home, Tarzian said.
Tarzian’s husband also plans to retire from the Sherman County School District this year. The couple own property across the Western U.S., between Washington and Arizona, so she’s not sure where they’ll go in the coming years.
She’s also not sure what she’ll do with her time off, but Tarzian said she’s looking forward to figuring that out.
“I have always admired what retired professionals can do when they focus their energy on a particular skill or project,” Tarzian said. “I have no doubt that children are going to be at the center of whatever project I take on.”
