Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Two finalists vye for superintendent post
ROSALIA — Brett Baum and Joe Beckford toured schools and were interviewed by the School Board and school staff, as part of the process to be the next schools superintendent.
Baum is the Liberty (Spangle) School District superintendent. The district serves 520 students from communities south of Spokane, including Spangle, Fairfield, Latah, Waverly, Plaza and Mt. Hope. He is the former Okanogan School District administrator and left to work for Liberty in 2019.
Beckford was the superintendent for the Aleutian Region School District in Anchorage, Alaska, and a board member of the European Teacher Education Network. He was the principal for Assumption School in Spokane from 1998 to 2000.
They are vying for the part-time Rosalia School District superintendent position to serve 170 students in grades kindergarten through high school.
Their interviews and tours took part Tuesday and the board will decide and name who will replace Superintendent Rick Linehan on Thursday evening.
“We’ll put them through the wringer,” said Linehan. “It’s a matter of trying to get the right fit for a small district.”
He said a top factor for him is to choose a candidate who is “able to listen well to the staff and community, and really listens to take their input.”
Linehan wants to find the right person to replace him as he has new plans.
“I’m retiring,” he said. “We’re going to stay where it’s warmer in the winter time … My wife and I have been at it for 44 years.”
Linehan said he will miss Rosalia and the people he worked with at the schools.
“I love working with kids and teachers,” he said.
Bill Stevenson is the former editor of the Whitman County Gazette, Colfax Daily Bulletin and Franklin Connection. He has nearly 30 years of journalism experience covering news in Eastern Washington.
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