Former Interim Superintendent Karen Clark will be leaving the Bellevue School District now that a permanent superintendent is on board.

According to Ann Oxrieder, director of communications and community engagement for Bellevue schools, Clark will continue to work on a part-time basis until a replacement can be found to fill her former position of finance director.

“I’m guessing it will take some time to find a replacement, since the people with expertise in the area of Washington school finance will be starting work in the next few weeks and may have contracts that are hard to break,” Oxrieder explained.

Former district finance director and finance consultant Howard Johnson is lending his expertise on a temporary basis until a full-time replacement for Clark is appointed.

Clark stepped into the position of interim superintendent following the resignation of former Bellevue Superintendent Mike Riley in November 2007. Riley recommended that Clark, deputy superintendent at the time, take over as interim superintendent until the school board appointed someone permanently.

Nearly two years later, the board appointed Dr. Amalia Cudeiro as the new superintendent of Bellevue schools.

Cudeiro brings with her experience as the Senior Partner at Targeted Leadership Consulting. She has also served as Adjunct Lecturer at Harvard University Urban Superintendents Program, Deputy Superintendent for the Boston Public Schools, and principal at both the Santa Monica Unified School District and the Baldwin Park Unified School District, both in California.

The Bellevue School District’s first day of school for the 2009/2010 school year begins on August 31.