Ex-principal and 18 others apply for empty Richland school board seat

Two former school board candidates and a ex-high school principal are among the 19 applicants for the Richland School Board.

The board will appoint one of them to replace Rick Donahoe, who stepped down in late July. The former Hanford engineer and previous head of the Children’s Reading Foundation left after 11 years to move to Michigan.

The district started accepting applications in early September, and asked six questions, including what they consider as the three most pressing issues facing the district and top special education issues.

Among the applicants are Matthew Bishop and Rama Devagupta, who both ran for the board in 2019, and former Hanford High Principal Ken Gosney.

The board plans to interview the candidates in a closed-door executive session and vote on a replacement at its Oct. 27 meeting.

“The goal is for the board to discuss and finalize the process so the position can be filled in a prompt manner,” according to a memo in a school board packet.

The person picked for the position will need to run for election in November 2021.

The applicants are: Matthew Bishop, Brooke Cannon, Kristen Christensen, Rama Devagupta, Ken Gosney, Benjamin Griggs, Amy Hatfield, Andrew Hedrick, Miriam Kerzner , Mike Leitner, Samantha Mason, Amy Oliver, Elizabeth Porter, Daniel Richey, Bruce Robertson, Giuseppe Rubinaccio, Jay Scott, Janae Stevens-Smith and Christopher Whalen.