The Coupeville School Board approved the hire of a new Coupeville Middle and High School principal Monday.

Larry Walsh, who is currently the principal at Oxbow High School in Bradford, Vt., will start this summer.

Walsh submitted one of 18 applications for the position and was one of four candidates interviewed by a 13-member board.

“What really stood out with Larry was his leadership ability,” said Superintendent Jim Shank. “We wanted to find someone who demonstrated leadership experience.”

Walsh’s previous experience includes being the district administration specialist for teacher coaching and mentoring in the Olympia School district, the assistant principal at Capital High School in Olympia and served as the associate principal at Hoquiam High School.

As a teacher, he served as a band director for Federal Way High School and Tahoma High School.

Walsh said he and his wife are “ecstatic” about the opportunity to move back to Washington state.

Walsh is a Fulbright Scholar and has served as an AP studies coordinator and an International Baccalaureate studies coordinator.

While working in Oxbow, he initiated a computing program using iPads and helped established an alternative school.

Shank said the leadership he demonstrated while working in Oxbow, combined with how he answered the committees questions made him the clear choice.

While Walsh’s contract starts July 1, principals don’t start until later in the summer.

Shank said Walsh notified him he will be moving to the area in mid-July.

He will replace exiting principal Sheldon Rosenkrance, who accepted a superintendent position in Colorado.