Renton School District board appointed Damien Pattenaude as the next superintendent at Wednesday night’s school board meeting.

Pattenaude, who currently serves as the assistant superintendent of learning and teaching for the district, will take over interim Superintendent Dr. Art Jarvis’s position July 1, 2017.

The board voted 4-0 to approve Pattenaude with one abstention from Board President Al Talley. Talley shared at the meeting he abstained because Pattenaude is his nephew.

Jarvis has been serving on an interim basis since former superintendent Merri Rieger resigned in May 2015. Last October, the board invited Jarvis to continue on as interim superintendent for one more school year while the they took time to to make a decision.

“We had a real unique opportunity to take advantage of somebody who is from Renton, from our district,” said boardmember Pam Teal at the meeting. “[Pattenaude is] so respected and valued in the community. This was the right thing to do. From a taxpayer’s perspective, a national or state-wide search takes money. It’s money we could be giving to our kids. I couldn’t be more pleased with this selection.”

“I want to thank the board for the opportunity to serve… as superintendent. I’m humbled by the responsibility of serving the 15,000 students, our outstanding staff, families and community” said Pattenaude.

Pattenaude is a Renton native who grew up in the West Hill/Skyway neighborhood of the district. He attended Campbell Hill Elementary School, Nelsen Middle School and Renton High School (RHS). He earned his bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degree from Washington State University.

Previously, he has been a teacher at RHS, assistant principal at Hazen High School, principal at RHS and chief academic officer for the district. He currently lives in Renton with his family and his children attend a district school.

Pattenaude will continue as assistant superintendent for the remainder of the school year, and will begin his role as superintendent starting July 1, 2017.