Ex-athletic director resigns from teaching position at Pierce County high school
A new director is heading athletics at Gig Harbor High School following the abrupt departure of his predecessor. Jordan Halstead, former athletic director at Issaquah High School, started in the role Sept. 16, a district employee report on the school district’s website shows. Halstead resigned his position at IHS as of Aug. 31, per a list of employees leaving the district that the Issaquah school board approved that month. Halstead’s arrival follows the Peninsula School District’s removal of Erick Counts, who held the position for less than a month before learning on Aug. 27 that he was losing the job. The previous athletic director, Blair Suek, was hired ahead of the 2022-23 school year and resigned in June 2026 ; her predecessor, Bob Werner, had held the role since 2011. Counts then resigned his position as a part-time social studies teacher at Gig Harbor High School on Oct. 23, the district employee report shows. The district confirmed his resignation in an email to The News Tribune Tuesday. “Mr. Counts has resigned from the Peninsula School District, and his resignation was approved at last week’s board meeting on October 27,” Chief of Schools Michael Farmer wrote. “The district cannot comment further
