Former Eastside Catholic School vice principal,  Mark Zmuda, will become associate principal this fall at Mercer Island High School. Zmuda’s hiring was approved May 1.

“I am very excited to be working with the Mercer Island School District,” Zmuda said while addressing the board before its approval. “I value education very highly and I come from a family of educators, so I’m looking forward to continuing with education, hopefully here at the Mercer Island School District for quite some time.”

The former Eastside Catholic vice principal was selected from a group of five semifinalists, all from the Puget Sound region, that had previous administrative experience.

“As I interviewed Mark… what impressed me was Mark’s knowledge of best practices and his commitment to ensure that every child is successful, every student is successful,” said Superintendent Dr. Gary Plano.

In her remarks to the board, Mercer Island principal Vicki Puckett said Zmuda is a committed, 15-year educator, and that the district was looking forward to having him as part of its team.

Zmuda is suing Eastside Catholic and the Seattle archdiocese for discrimination, breach of contract, tortious interference with business expectancy and violation of consumer protection act. The defendants plan to move for dismissal at a hearing May 23 at 11 a.m. in King County Superior Court.

Linda Ball contributed to this report