Jeffery Taylor of the Port Townsend School District’s board of directors is stepping down from the District 2 director position.

School district officials announced his departure during last week’s school board meeting, and said Taylor resigned from the position on March 28.

“It has been an honor and privilege to have had the opportunity to serve the taxpayers, students, and staff of this school district in my role as a school board member,” Taylor said in his letter of resignation.

In correspondence with The Leader, Taylor stated that his reason for departing is because he was hired to become a science and mathematics teacher at Port Townsend High School.

Taylor currently works for the Quilcene School District as a science teacher at the middle and high schools. He will begin his new teaching role in the 2023-2024 school year at Port Townsend.

“The members of this board have been such a pleasure to work with,” Taylor said in his resignation letter. “Getting to know Doug [Ross], Jennifer [James-Wilson], Nathaniel [O’Hara], Connie [Welch], and John [Nowak], as well as our new student representatives Maggie [Emery] and Emilia [Ramsey], has been so enjoyable.”

“I feel we have done tremendous work in the past 3.5 years in helping guide this district through COVID-19 and implementing Vision 2027 and our equity work,” he added.

Taylor grew up in Tacoma and received his bachelor’s degree in science from the University of Washington. He also earned a master’s degree for zoology at Michigan State University.

Prior to teaching, he worked as a biological technician at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and was an interpretive ranger for the Elwha Ecosystem Restoration Project at Olympic National Park.