Community Education Sports
School district looking for a new Gig Harbor High School athletic director — again
Peninsula School District is seeking a new athletic director for Gig Harbor High School, just four weeks after its previous hire started work.
But district officials said they were “unable” to address the employment status of Erick Counts, beyond saying that he remains a teacher at Gig Harbor. The school district hired Counts this summer to be both a teacher and athletic director. He started work Aug. 3.
Counts, reached by phone on Aug. 31, said he had been “instructed by my legal counsel” not to comment about the situation. He confirmed that he remains a teacher at Gig Harbor High School.
The district posted a job listing for the position on Aug. 28. The deadline to apply is Friday, Sept. 4, two days after classes begin in Peninsula School District.
The posting describes the job as a .6 FTE (full time equivalent) position, working 7 1/2 hours per day. The salary range is $64,467.99 to $129,648.22.
Peninsula School District is looking for a new athletic director at Gig Harbor High School.
Vague response
Michael Farmer, the district’s chief of schools, did not directly answer questions about why Counts is no longer Gig Harbor’s athletic director. The 38-year-old Counts remains employed, Farmer said in an email to Gig Harbor Now.
Gig Harbor High School athletic director Erick Counts
“Mr. Counts is not currently on administrative leave,” Farmer said. “He is scheduled to begin teaching (this) week when we start the 2026-2027 school year.”
A follow-up question to clarify if Counts also remains Gig Harbor’s athletic director brought this response from Farmer: “Thank you for the follow up question. … At this time, this is all we have to share.”
The job posting went up the same day Farmer declined to answer Gig Harbor Now’s questions.
Looking for third AD since June
Counts is a teacher and former coach who worked the sidelines in North Dakota, Shelton and Tumwater. The Gig Harbor job was his first athletic director post.
He replaced Blair Suek, who resigned in June after four years as Gig Harbor High’s athletic director.
She stepped down about a month after she fired girls basketball coach Michele Hackett, whom the district then re-hired. Hackett later left GHHS to become the girls basketball coach at Stadium High School in Tacoma.
The school is still looking for a girls basketball coach for the 2026-27 season.
Social media posts
One community member forwarded Gig Harbor Now a copy of a letter he sent to Peninsula School District administrators. The letter raises concerns about “publicly available social-media posts associated with” Counts.
Several commenters on Gig Harbor Now’s Aug. 22 Facebook post about Counts also raised concerns. Commenters posted screen shots, purportedly from Counts’ personal Facebook page, in which he used vulgar language in expressing opposition to ICE, the federal immigration enforcement agency.
“I saw a pattern of profanity, obscene images and unprofessional vulgarity from someone who is supposed to be setting an example and being a role model for students and student athletes, let alone representing the school,” Sally Andresen Hougham wrote in a Facebook comment.
Hougham also posted a screen shot from Oct. 12, 2020, purportedly by Counts, that was critical of President Trump’s commemoration of Columbus Day. “Stop Whitewashing History,” read the post, which also included profanity.
The Facebook account in question did not use Counts’ name. It made reference to a long snapper, the football position he played in college. Counts declined to confirm whether the account was his.
Wendy Malich, the district athletic director, responded to the community member’s questions about Counts’ social media posts:
“I want to assure you that we take these concerns that have been raised seriously,” she wrote. “Currently, we are reviewing and evaluating the situation with the administration at Gig Harbor High School. We plan to follow the appropriate district processes as we work through the situation.”
Social media policy
The school district has grappled with social media boundaries for several years.
The Peninsula School Board adopted a controversial staff expression policy in October 2024. The policy stated the district’s right to discipline or terminate an employee if social media comments negatively impacted the employee’s ability to do his or her job or “has an adverse impact on district operations.”
After employees and community members objected to the policy, the board suspended it in May 2025.