School Board will meet - April 21ST 2014 at 5:00 p.m. - (This meeting has been moved from April 18th to April 21st) - 04/17/14
The Kiona-Benton City School Board is meeting at the former Prosser Memorial Clinic for a tour of the facilities that is now being leased by the District.

Kiona-Benton School District Extends Contract of Superintendent Wade Haun Through 2014-15 School Year. - 04/15/14
There is a reason our state legislature granted local school boards the authority to establish the necessary qualifications of the superintendent of the individual school district which the board is elected to govern.

Based upon our western tradition of individualism and local control of the institutions that enrich and sustain a community, the legislature recognized that local school boards, and not bureaucrats in the state capital, are in the best position to select an executive officer that meets the needs of their particular community and constituents.

The board of directors of our school district has given considerable thought to the problem of defining qualifications which would enable our superintendent to most effectively administer our operations and assist the board in achieving the school district's core mission.

We are in complete agreement that our superintendent must:

* Have strong administrative and management skills;

* Have received professional training in the fundamentals of operating a business;

* Have demonstrated a lasting commitment to our community and our kids over time;

* Be willing to make difficult, but fair, decisions as necessary to advance the welfare of our students;

* Be a good employer, but also be willing to do whatever it takes to make our staff successful in their jobs;

Since being thrust into a difficult position due to the resignation of our former superintendent, Wade Haun has exceeded the board's expectations for the position to a tremendous degree.

The climate within our school district has improved markedly, and our relationship with the three unions that represent our staff hasn't been better in years.

Superintendent Haun has totally immersed himself in the district's affairs. He is a quick study, and is proving to be an excellent manager.

Administering a school district even as small as ours (about 200 employees) is a complex task akin to running a good-size private business, but with about a million more laws and regulations to complicate the process. Superintendent Haun is up to the task. He has a baccalaureate degree in business administration from Eastern Washington University, and has worked as a manager in the private sector.

Our school board is aware that there will be some who contend that we should have searched for a professional educator to serve as our superintendent. To those individuals, we reply that the school district already has a number of professional educators on its payroll, and we trust them to continue to do their jobs and to guide us in the right direction with respect to that arena.

In selecting a superintendent, we asked ourselves what does our district really need in order to refocus the school district and the community upon our primary goal: providing quality educational opportunities to our kids.

We decided that what has been lacking in our district is leadership and management ability. When we consider the work that Superintendent Haun has done for us since his appointment, our board is united in concluding that he has earned, and deserves, more time to finish healing this school district.

Special Board Meeting - Kiona-Benton City School District - 03/27/14
March 28, 2014 - Special Board Meeting at 6:00 P.M. with an Executive Session fifteen minutes prior to the meeting.

Superintendent Search Firm will be decided.