North Thurston announces 3 finalists for superintendent. One of them is local
The board of directors at North Thurston Public Schools on Wednesday announced the three finalists for the top job leading Thurston County’s largest school district.
Among the finalists is Troy Oliver, the district’s current assistant superintendent of operations and a former principal at Komachin Middle School in Lacey. The two other finalists are Justin Ainsworth and Thu Ament.
One of them will replace current Superintendent Debra Clemens, who announced her retirement earlier this year. Her last day is June 30.
The next superintendent will earn $330,000 a year, The Olympian previously reported.
“The quality of applicants was impressive, and we are grateful to the community for being engaged throughout this process,” said NTPS School Board President Gretchen Maliska in a statement. “We are committed to determining which of these highly qualified candidates best matches our district’s needs and priorities, with continued feedback from our stakeholders.”
Twenty-nine people applied for the job by the March 10 deadline.
Community members are invited to meet each of the finalists from 5 to 7:15 p.m. on April 10 in the District Office Boardroom, 305 College St. NE. The finalists will meet with NTPS leaders and other staff as well as students throughout the day.
Here is information about each of the finalists provided by the district.
Justin Ainsworth
Ainsworth is associate superintendent in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough school district in Palmer, Alaska, a town of about 6,000 people northeast of Anchorage. He has worked in public education for 20 years and is a past teacher and principal.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Southern Oregon University in Ashland, a master’s degree in teaching from Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon, and a doctorate in education from William Howard Taft University in Denver, Colorado.
Thu Ament
Ament is deputy superintendent in the Sumner-Bonney Lake School District in Pierce County. He has worked in public education for 27 years, including in Tacoma before working for Sumner-Bonney Lake.
Ament is a graduate of Central Washington University in Ellensburg, earning two bachelor’s degrees and a master’s degree there. He earned his doctorate in education at Washington State University in Pullman.
Troy Oliver
Oliver has worked in public education for 34 years, 27 of them with North Thurston Public Schools. He, too, is a past principal and teacher.
Oliver attended Whitworth University in Spokane where he earned his bachelor’s degree in history. He later returned to Whitworth to earn a master’s degree in educational administration in 1995.
