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:
- Opinion: Gov. Ferguson has abandoned his own tax relief demands
Ryan Frost of the Washington Policy Center argues that Gov. Bob Ferguson’s support for the state’s proposed income tax contradicts his earlier demands for broader taxpayer relief. - Debate grows as states consider teacher strike bans
Lawmakers in several states are considering new laws affecting teacher strikes as debates grow over labor rights and disruptions to public education. - WA GOP lawmakers press schools chief on gender identity disclosure policies
Washington House Republicans are asking Superintendent Chris Reykdal to explain state guidance on gender identity disclosure following a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling. - High school state basketball: Columbia River suffers heartache in overtime loss in semifinals
Columbia River’s run to the Class 2A semifinals ended on a buzzer-beater in overtime, while Evergreen advanced to a trophy game and several other Clark County teams wrapped up their state tournament seasons. - Passage of income tax bill more likely as Gov. Ferguson now says he will sign it
Gov. Bob Ferguson says he will sign a revised income tax proposal targeting earnings above $1 million if the Legislature approves the measure. - Opinion: Many important decisions looming as the 2026 session nears the end
Rep. John Ley outlines budget concerns, energy policy debates and several tax proposals as the 2026 legislative session approaches its final days. - Opinion: 106 striking workers already using unemployment insurance benefits
A Washington Policy Center analyst says the state’s new law allowing striking workers to collect unemployment benefits is already affecting the UI system.
