Superintendent Denny Waters is relocating outside of Southwest Washington to live closer to family
After 18 years in Battle Ground Public Schools, Superintendent Denny Waters is set to retire at the end of the 2024-25 school year. He is relocating outside of Southwest Washington to live closer to family.
The Battle Ground board of directors approved Waters’ retirement at its Feb. 10 meeting. On Feb. 24, the board voted to appoint Shelly Whitten to be the next superintendent of the district. Whitten, the district’s current deputy superintendent, will begin her new role on July 1, 2025.
About Denny Waters
Waters has nearly 40 years of experience in education. In Battle Ground, he served as an assistant principal and executive director of special services before becoming the district’s deputy superintendent in 2017. In that role, he earned a 2020 Robert J. Handy Most Effective Administrator award from the Washington Association of School Administrators.
Since becoming superintendent in 2021, Waters has demonstrated a commitment to transparency, stakeholder engagement and fiscal responsibility. With input from staff, families and the community, he oversaw the creation of a new strategic plan focused on safe and caring environments, high-quality instruction and collaboration that cultivates trust. He formed student and citizen advisory committees to capture student input and increase communication with parents and community members on important issues such as facility planning. In 2024, local voters approved the district’s first-ever capital levy to make building repairs and create and update spaces for construction trades, culinary and health sciences classes. That same year, the district also received a clean financial audit by the Washington state auditor’s office.
Said Waters, “Working in BGPS and serving as superintendent has been the greatest honor of my professional career. I am forever grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with students, parents, guardians, staff and community members to move the district forward. I am confident that the foundation we have built will continue to support the district.”
About Shelly Whitten
A Battle Ground alum, Whitten also has more than three decades of experience as an educator. Her tenure in the district includes working as a teacher, assistant principal, principal, director of instructional leadership, director of human resources and assistant superintendent of human resources. She became the deputy superintendent in 2020 and has worked closely with Waters to lead the district’s pandemic recovery efforts, oversee the teaching and learning and human resources departments, develop the strategic plan, establish committees that tap into the perspectives of different stakeholders and guide decisionmaking about the district’s facilities. The deputy superintendent role helps to provide continuity of leadership and act as the superintendent when the superintendent is not available.
Whitten has a bachelor’s degree in elementary education, master’s degree in education administration and superintendent certification from Washington State University.
Information provided by the Battle Ground School District.
Also read:
- WA Senate Republicans unable to stop income tax bill now headed to governor’s desk
Washington lawmakers narrowly approved a new income tax on households earning over $1 million, setting the stage for court battles and a statewide initiative campaign. - 17th District lawmakers Kevin Waters and David Stuebe decry passage of state income tax bill after marathon floor debate
Reps. Kevin Waters and David Stuebe condemn Senate Bill 6346, warning the new state income tax sends more money into the general fund without real reform, risks expanding to every family, and ignores Washington’s affordability crisis. - Opinion: Washington’s fight for liberty
Conservative columnist Nancy Churchill argues that despite the passage of a new 9.9% state income tax, signs of shifting political momentum in Washington state give reason for hope and continued action. - 18th District Reps. Stephanie McClintock and John Ley denounce passage of state income tax
Following a marathon 24-hour House floor debate, 18th District Reps. Stephanie McClintock and John Ley denounce Senate Bill 6346, a new 9.9% state income tax on household income above $1 million, warning it could expand broadly, harm Washington’s economy, and face serious constitutional challenges. - County pays $7.5 million to widow of VPD Officer Donald Sahota
Clark County has agreed to pay $7.5 million to the widow of Vancouver Police Officer Donald Sahota to resolve a negligence lawsuit following the 2022 incident where a sheriff’s deputy mistakenly shot the off-duty officer during a confrontation with a robbery suspect. - Opinion: Brandi Kruse and I are feeling discouraged but we’re planning to continue advocating for political change. Will you?
Clark County Today Editor Ken Vance reflects on a discouraging week in Washington state politics, echoing Brandi Kruse’s frustrations over Democrats’ state income tax victory and local decisions on transit and ICE while urging conservatives not to give up on advocating for political change. - OII passes 60-day point in Vancouver Police Department use of deadly force investigation
The Washington State Office of Independent Investigations is just past 60 days into its investigation of a Vancouver Police Department use of deadly force involving officers Sean Donaldson and Christopher Holmquist and the death of 44-year-old Perry J. Sellars after a late-night disturbance call on NE 46th Street.
