Two days after a fresh class of Hyaks walked across the stage at graduation, a new district leader arrived to guide future students in the same direction.

Dr. Jim Shank made note of North Beach School District’s solid graduation rate, and wants to carry it forward during his time as head educator.

“We’ll focus on learning,” Shank said. “That’s always our number one priority, is making sure that students are progressing and learning to their maximum capacity. That’s why we exist, to make sure the schooling occurs every day.”

Shank took the superintendent oath of office on Tuesday while attending his first North Beach School District Board of Directors as superintendent. The board inked Shank’s contract in April. It locks in the new superintendent for three years and pays a $185,000 salary. Originally slated to start his new gig July 1, the district allowed Shank to begin a few weeks early — he started June 12 — to get his feet wet. The new school year is, after all, only a few months away, and the post of superintendent doesn’t afford a long summer vacation.

The district contracted with consulting firm Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates to conduct the search for a new superintendent, which began in January when the firm compiled public opinions on what an ideal candidate might look like.

Shank brings 14 years of superintendent experience to the position, and just as many between other administrative positions within the Idaho Falls School District, including assistant principal, principal and director of federal programs. His most recent superintendent gig was also with Idaho Falls — a district of about 10,000 students — and now transitions to one more than 10 times smaller.

“I can see the differences and the values of a large system as well as a small system, I can see that obviously the whole idea behind any size school district is that students are learning,” Shank said. “Despite the size of a district, that’s always the goal, making sure that exchange between teacher and student happens at a high level every day.”

Shank said he wants to put an emphasis on the basics, focusing on literacy and mathematics.

“When kids read well, they do better in all of their content areas,” he said.

Small districts are no stranger to Shank — he served for several years as superintendent of Coupeville School District on Whidbey Island, which during his tenure had under 1,000 students.

He was born in Longview, where he graduated from high school. He left to attend Brigham Young University, where he received an undergraduate degree in special education, and later a master’s in educational leadership. He completed his doctoral studies at Idaho State University.

While the job on Whidbey would be his initial Washington homecoming, the move to Ocean Shores was spurred by a similar purpose, to return to the region of his youth and reconnect with family.

The North Beach School District hopes his arrival will bring stability to a superintendent position that’s been in flux for more than a year — with several interims filtering through in that time — and endured several rocky departures. Former North Beach Superintendent Andrew Kelly resigned last spring after the district placed him on paid leave, and he was later convicted on five-year-old DUI charges and sentenced to 60-months probation. Prior to that, the district released superintendent Deborah Holcomb after the teacher’s union complained about Holcomb’s policies and filed an unfair labor practices complaint.

Two district ballot measures failed last year, including a $110 million bond in February and a $7 million levy in November.

One of his first tasks will be balancing the budget. The school board on Tuesday approved a $530,000 budget extension, meaning the district will dip into cash reserves to compensate for overspending. A budget for the 2023-2024 school year will be presented to the board at the July meeting, and will outline necessary cuts to staff and programs.

Shank said one of his goals as superintendent is to “create positive relationships with staff and community.”

“My effort will be to connect and try to grow that relationship and help everyone understand that we need them to be champions for our schools,” he said. “Often times that becomes a community effort. My hope is that I can develop those relationships quickly, and we can grow together.”

Contact reporter Clayton Franke at 406-552-3917 or clayton.franke@thedailyworld.com.