After a months-long search for a new director, North Whidbey Parks and Recreation District is back to square one.

Board members thought they found the perfect match to run the special purpose district, which operates the John Vanderzicht Memorial Pool as well as two community parks.

They offered the job to a pool manager in California, who turned down the position because the salary isn’t enough, said board Chairman Sean Merrill.

The district is offering a salary between $52,000 and $59,000.

“At the end of the day, we couldn’t offer him enough to move from California,” he said.

None of the other candidates had the right mix of qualifications, and the board is reevaluating how to best carry out a new search, Merrill said.

It’s a setback for a district beset with a series of resignations in its board and administration.

Former executive director Gino Wolfe resigned Jan. 1. Since then, aquatics director Erika Miller, has served as interim director.

The board approved a revision to the district’s budget in June.

That’s unusual, Merrill said.

The district is doing better than predicted in revenue, partly because open swim and swim lesson revenue is more than expected. So far the district earned $968,176. Originally, the district planned to bring in $946,680 for the entire year.

The district dealt with some unexpected expenses this year, including a series of costly repairs to plumbing and heating at the pool.

The board borrowed $26,000 from the district’s roughly $75,000 reserves to pay. As part of the budget revision, the board is putting $13,000 back and plans to replace more later this year, Merrill said.