Coupeville Sports

Jamar Jenkins (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

After a 20+ year run with Coupeville Schools, Jamar Jenkins is retiring.

That move is listed on the consent agenda for the Jan. 30 school board meeting and will be effective at the end of the school year.

Jenkins, who was originally hired as the Coupeville High School/Middle School music teacher and band director in 2003, has been teaching music at the elementary school this year.

He was placed on paid administrative leave last year, with district officials declining to offer more clarity at the time.

The secondary music program was then eliminated in a round of budget cuts.

Before becoming a teacher in Coupeville, Jenkins, a graduate of the University of Washington, compiled an extensive history as a professional musician.

He came up through the Seattle funk scene in the 1970’s and was one of the founders of the band Cold, Bold, and Together, originally known as Funk Experience.

That group, which later introduced the world to Kenny G, was together from 1971-1978 and opened for Canned Heat, Kool & the Gang, KC & the Sunshine Band, and Earth, Wind & Fire among others.

After band members opted to move on to different projects as disco swept the nation, Jenkins went to college, got married and fathered children, and moved into teaching music.

He had teaching stints in Tacoma and Los Angeles before moving to Whidbey Island, where his wife, Allenda, grew up in Oak Harbor.