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Kent School District board appoints Teresa Gregory to fill District 4 vacancy
Summary
After interviewing seven finalists in public interviews and a closed executive session, the Kent School District Board voted to appoint Teresa Gregory to fill the District 4 seat. Gregory will be sworn in Feb. 26, 2025, and serve until the regular board meeting on Dec. 10, 2025.
The Kent School District Board appointed Teresa Gregory to fill the vacant Director, District 4 seat following public interviews and an executive-session review, the board announced Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025.
The appointment follows public interviews with seven finalists and a closed executive session to evaluate applicants’ qualifications. Legal counsel reminded the board before interviews that “evaluation of qualifications for public employment is done in executive session,” but that “the final vote and the decision is made in open session,” the board’s counsel said.
Board members said the process followed the timeline posted on the district website: the vacancy was announced Jan. 8, 2025; applications opened Jan. 9 and closed Jan. 31; finalists were announced Feb. 5; and the public interviews and executive-session deliberations took place Feb. 11. Board staff said each finalist was allotted 30 minutes for their interview.
After returning from executive session, the board took nominations and conducted roll-call votes on the three finalists put forward by board members. In the final round the board recorded three yes votes in favor of Teresa Gregory and one no, which met the majority required under the district’s selection procedure. Gregory’s appointment will take effect when she is sworn in on Feb. 26, 2025, and continue until the beginning of the board’s regular meeting on Dec. 10, 2025. Board staff reminded prospective candidates that 2025 is an election year for Director District 4 and that candidate filing week for the full term opens in May and closes May 9, 2025, at 5 p.m.
Board members nominated and voted in open session after deliberating in executive session on the candidates’ qualifications. The board’s public schedule and minutes show multiple recesses during the evening to accommodate interviews and executive sessions; the public record notes the board reconvened after the closed deliberation to vote.
The interviews themselves included seven finalists: Clifford Cloughton (candidate 1), Thomas Foege (candidate 2), Teresa Gregory (candidate 3), Justin James (candidate 4), Catherine Parker (candidate 5), David Stanford (candidate 6) and Michael Taske (candidate 7). Each candidate answered a standard set of questions prepared by the board and discussed topics such as equity, achievement gaps, funding and the board-superintendent relationship.
Board counsel also directed that the board stick to the preissued questions during interviews to ensure equal opportunity for all applicants. The board repeatedly stated the public nature of the interviews and that the evaluation of candidates’ qualifications would occur in executive session, with any formal action occurring after returning to open session.
Gregory, a Kent School District graduate and community volunteer, will assume the District 4 seat upon taking the oath of office Feb. 26 and serve through the district’s stated end date for the interim appointment. The board did not announce any additional direction tied to the appointment beyond onboarding and the oath date.
The board’s appointment concludes the special public meeting for this agenda item. The district posted the vacancy and application timeline on its website as required by RCW 28A343.370 and referenced several board policies and state statutes for candidate eligibility and conflict-of-interest review during the process.
