Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
St. Maries High School Principlan John Cordell tops list
John Cordell was selected as the top candidate for the Tekoa School District superintendent's post.
TEKOA – The Tekoa School Board selected John Cordell as its new superintendent Tuesday.
John Cordell is the principal of St. Maries High School in St. Maries, Idaho. He worked for the school for 22 years. He worked as a teacher and later as a principal at the Wahluke High School from 1989 to 1998.
Off campus, Cordell served as a member of the Benewah County Community Center, a presenter at the Inland Northwest Partners annual conference, and the St. Maries AAU basketball coach.
"We know this new position will come as a shock to some and questions from many more. Be assured the board has not entered into this contract without the best interest of the district in mind," Tekoa School board chair Robert Wilkins stated on social media.
The board offered tours and interviewed three candidates before offering the position to Cordell.
Candidate Joe Beckford is the superintendent of Aleutian Regional School District in Anchorage. He was a member of the clinical faculty at the University of Alaska, and the former principal of Assumption School in Spokane.
Candidate Raymond Leaver is an instructional coach for Wellpinit Elementary School. He is the former principal for Paschal Sherman Indian School in Omak. He served as the superintendent of the Methow Valley School District in Winthrop, and as a teacher in Othello.
After considering all tuhree, the school board chose Cordell.
"Due to the ever changing landscape of COVID-19, the declining enrollment and state funding, the board felt this decision would make steps in helping to ensure financial stability for the district in the future," Wilkins stated.
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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