Contract signed for new Kalispell superintendent

A contract for the incoming Kalispell Public Schools Superintendent Mark Flatau is a done deal.

The board of trustees unanimously approved a three-year contract with a first-year salary of $129,500, not including benefits. His contract begins July 1.

He will succeed Superintendent Darlene Schottle, who is retiring at the end of June.

Other benefits include a $330-a-month car allowance for in-district school-related travel, $80 a month for a cellphone and up to $660 a year for civic club memberships among other items.

The district originally had advertised the position with a $125,000 base salary.

Flatau will finish up the school year as superintendent of Cle Elum-Roslyn School District in Cle Elum, Wash., where he has worked for the past nine years.

Prior to his position as superintendent of Cle Elum-Roslyn School District, Flatau was an assistant superintendent in North Mason School District in Belfair, Wash., for two years.

Flatau holds an Associate of Arts from Northwest College in Kirkland, Wash., a Bachelor of Arts in Education and a Master of Education degree, both from Seattle Pacific University in Seattle.