This Tri-Cities school leader isn’t retiring yet, after all, thanks to COVID

Superintendent Lance Hahn is leaving the Finley School District after more than 10 years in the position.

But it will be a year later than he initially planned.

Hahn announced in October that he planned to step down in June 2022, but he’s now asked the board to push that back to June 2023.

The school board expects to vote on Nov. 15 to make it official.

“Going into my planned retirement for 2022, I really had thought schools would be further out of the COVID crisis than we are, and that this would be more of a ‘normal’ year,” Hahn said in a release from the district. “Unfortunately, that’s not the case.”

The extra year would let him finish some bigger projects and let the next superintendent focus on education rather than COVID recovery.

On top of masks and vaccine mandates, Hahn said he is focused on the budget into “a more solid place” before a new superintendent starts.

Hahn was grateful for the support and flexibility from the board, and is excited to continue,according to the news release.

The school board plans to resume the search for a superintendent at the beginning of the 2022-23 school year.

Hahn has led the small school district southeast of Kennewick since 2011 when he replaced Suzanne Feeney. He worked as an administrator for the district since 1994.

Over that period, the district secured a $10 million bond to help fix aging facilities throughout the district, including replacing the middle school room and new lighting. It was the first bond at the district in nearly 20 years.

The district has nearly 900 students.