Meet the next Kennewick schools leader. He turned Idaho district a ‘shining star’
Kennewick’s next superintendent has finalized a contract with the school board and is set to begin work July 1.
In an interview with the Tri-City Herald, Lance Hansen said he plans to leverage the district’s expertise to build off the foundation set by Superintendent Traci Pierce, whose retirement is set for June 30.
“I am really good at creating a vision for whatever we’re doing. I also feel like I’m good at building teams — I’ve been a coach, been a building principal... I find the best ways to support those who are closest to the action so that they can perform at their highest level,” he said.
Hansen says he plans to do a lot of listening and learning in his first few months as superintendent. But he also listed improving early childhood reading, overall attendance and graduation rates as priorities.
The school board on Wednesday night unanimously approved Hansen’s contract, closing the door on a year-long search to find a suitable successor for Pierce.
Hansen’s new contract is similar in many ways to Pierce’s signed back in 2023. He’ll earn a base salary of $188,300 — the same wage earned by Pierce last school year.
It’s below what other Tri-City superintendents are making. District leaders in Richland and Pasco make about $217,600 and $215,500, respectively, according to OSPI salary data.
But his compensation package — which includes a 16% bonus and tens of thousands of dollars for school visits, instructional leadership and other work — could max out at about $294,000.
Hansen comes to the Tri-Cities from Lewiston Independent School District, where he’s served as its superintendent the past four years. Before that, he served eight years as the district’s assistant superintendent.
He was most recently named as Idaho’s 2025 Superintendent of the Year, and he’s been described by his peers as a data-driven team builder, who dedicates one of his office walls to tracking math and reading scores.
On paper, the two school districts appear quite different.
Kennewick is more than four-times larger — both in student enrollment and its budget — with a large Latino student population. Lewiston is a whiter, more rural district with a storied past as Idaho’s oldest school district.
But the two share some of the same DNA, including a dedication to career and technical education. Hansen mentioned Lewiston is one of a few districts in the state to require a CTE credit in order to graduate, ensuring all students get exposure to fields such as health care and agriculture.
Lewiston has been a great fit for Hansen as far as community, their support for education and aligning values.
“Kennewick feels the same,” he said.
Idaho’s ‘shining star’
Lewiston ISD straddles the Clearwater River near the Washington-Idaho border. It employs 650 staff and teachers to support the education of 4,500 students on a $70 million budget. That includes seven elementary schools, two middle schools, and two high schools.
Hansen served Lewiston in several roles over the last 18 years, including as assistant superintendent, principal and as an assistant principal in secondary schools.
His early career includes working as a math teacher at Moscow High School, and as a Spanish and math teacher at Emmett High School. He holds a bachelor’s in Spanish and math, as well as a master’s in educational leadership, both from University of Idaho.
Staci Baldwin, president of the Lewiston School Board, said Hansen created a sense of community and positive atmosphere in the district and at board meetings. He’ll be missed by their community of 35,000 residents, parents, stakeholders and students.
“His ability to foster open communication and bring everyone together is a rare gift that made our district stronger,” she told the Herald in an email. “Kennewick is incredibly fortunate to have Lance as superintendent. He will undoubtedly lead them to great accomplishments, and I’m confident that the district will thrive under his guidance.”
Hansen got a lot done during both his time as a superintendent and assistant superintendent. He played a vital role in passing a bond to build a new high school with a state-of-the-art CTE center, ran successful levies, and designed and developed the district’s new athletics facilities.
He also successfully implemented a new professional learning community process — a collaborative approach to sharing ideas to enhance teaching practices. That was something that made him stand out among other candidates by the Kennewick School Board.
“He did all this while focusing on raising the academic expectations for all of our students,” Baldwin said. “Lewiston School District is thriving academically and is the shining star in the state of Idaho. His dedication, expertise and unwavering commitment to the success of our students and staff have made a lasting impact that will be felt for years to come.”
Lewiston students gain in reading, math
Research has shown academic performance by 3rd grade can determine a student’s future success. That’s because the grade serves as a “key turning point,” where students transition from learning to read, to reading to learn.
Lewiston’s reading scores for early learners outperform the state’s average, according to Idaho Ed News. While about two-thirds of K-3 students in the Gem State read at grade level in spring 2024 testing, in Lewiston that number is closer to 79%. At the end of last school year, Hansen said, half of special education second graders were reading on grade level.
Even with Lewiston’s solid gains in early childhood literacy, Hansen feels there’s always improvements that can be made to move the needle on student achievement.
“Students who struggle with reading struggle in all other academic areas,” he said, adding later: “There’s always room for improvement.”
Data from the 2024 Idaho Standards Achievement Test shows 60% of Lewiston students scored “proficient” or higher in English, as well as 51% in math and 45% in science. Other students either showed “basic” or “below basic” comprehension.
But Lewiston is one of three school districts in the state that has exceeded their pre-pandemic scores in both math and ELA, Hansen said. Student performance has improved every year since the 2019-20 school year.
Lewiston’s four-year graduation rate in 2024 was about 86%. It’s chronic absenteeism rate among students, defined as when a student misses 10% or more of the school year, was below the state average at about 14.6%.
Hansen said Lewiston faces the same headwinds as many of the other districts across the nation.
Their focus is on improving attendance, a tough spot since district apportionment in Idaho is tied to attendance and not enrollment, like it is in the Evergreen state. Similarly, student behavior continues to be a challenge.
“We need to continue to teach greater resiliency with non-preferred activities, is what it boils down to,” he said.
Kennewick School Board President Gabe Galbraith has characterized Hansen’s background teaching and as an administrator as “remarkable” and that his “passion for students was clear from the start.”
“The board looks forward to the positive impact his leadership will have as we continue to grow and strengthen our schools,” Galbraith said in a previous statement.
Hansen will move to the area with his wife. He has five grown children and five grandchildren, with one more on the way.
“My wife and I are very excited to become a part of the Kennewick community,” he said.
