High school principals at Central Kitsap, Klahowya changing jobs

A former state champion wrestler, Central Kitsap High School principal Craig Johnson will soon grapple with a different job: athletic director at Klahowya Secondary School.

Johnson's employment switch, which will go into effect at the beginning of August, is one of several notable job changes within Central Kitsap School District this summer. Johnson is replacing Geniqua Harris, who is moving to Hawaii after spending three years as Klahowya's AD.

"It's not critical for me to sit in the principal chair forever," said Johnson, who has served in various principal positions within CKSD for the past 15 years. "There are other ways to serve the community and I'd love to be able to contribute."

A 1995 Olympic High School graduate who captured a state wrestling title as a senior, Johnson served as the assistant principal of Fairview Junior High School from 2009-13, then became assistant principal at Central Kitsap High School in 2013. He served as co-principal at CK with Gail Danner in 2017 before becoming CK's principal in 2019 after Danner took the principal job at Olympic.

Had Harris remained as Klahowya's athletic director, Johnson said he would have had no issues continuing as Central Kitsap's principal. Yet with two children having recently graduated high school, Johnson seemed excited at the idea of facing a new challenge while remaining in the same school district.

"It runs very close to the same speed I'm running now, so I feel good about that," Johnson said. "And it's not farther away from kids. I'm not going to be in a cubicle. I didn't get a desk in a cave somewhere where I'm just going to answer phones and emails all day long. Now I get out and see what kids do, how they follow their passions."

Johnson will be one of two new high school athletic directors in Central Kitsap School District beginning in the 2024-25 school year. In June, the district hired Jerrod Fleury to be the new AD at Central Kitsap High School.

Alex Chertok will serve as the Central Kitsap High School's interim principal in 2024-25. Chertok became assistant principal at CK in 2021 after serving as a teacher in the South Kitsap School District.

Former Klahowya principal Scott McDaniel has been named the district's new executive director of business services. McDaniel is taking over for longtime business services head Paula Bailey, who is retiring. Meghan Rubman, a former assistant principal at both Klahowya and Fairview, will serve as Klahowya's interim principal for 2024-25.

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: High school principals at Central Kitsap, Klahowya changing jobs