Long-time Tri-Cities principal, teacher elected to WA education board
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Van Cummings elected to Washington State Board of Education; term begins Jan 12.
- Cummings brings 40 years of K‑12 experience and recent interim leadership roles.
- He won the Region 2 seat with 52% support and will succeed Ryan Brault of Pasco.
A veteran of the Tri-Cities education community has been elected to the Washington State Board of Education.
Van Cummings, who retired as Kennewick High School’s principal in 2015, will start his term Jan. 12 on the board responsible for strategic oversight and advocacy for K-12 public education. His term will run through January 2030.
The Richland resident is an experienced educator and administrator with a 40-year career in public education. He’ll succeed Ryan Brault, the former Pasco School Board member who has served in the Region No. 2 position since 2017.
“Van brings a rich and extensive set of experiences to the board,” said Mary Fertakis, chair of the Board of Education, in a statement. “His dedication to serving students at all levels of the K-12 system will be a great asset to our work, and we are excited to have him join the team.”
Cummings has remained active since his retirement, serving as interim and substitute principal for various elementary, middle and high schools across the state. That includes serving as a long-term sub in Kennewick, and as a K-12 interim principal for the Inchelium School District on the Colville Indian Reservation.
His lifelong commitment to community service is what’s driving him to step up, he said. Cummings was elected with 52% support at an October election of Eastern Washington school board members.
“I believe school districts are best supported through strong local control and that all students deserve access to a free and appropriate public education,” he said.
Cummings got his start in education in the 1970s as an English teacher at the middle and high school levels. He went on to establish Air Force Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) programs in schools, and taught English to elementary migrant students in the summer.
After earning his master’s degree in 1987, he served two decades as a principal and assistant principal at various high schools in Kennewick, Warden, Othello, Dayton and Clarkston.
He also worked at Lewis-Clark State College in Idaho and at Educational Service District 123 in Pasco.
The state board is made up of 16 members including two students, the state superintendent, a private school representative, five members elected by school board members and seven members appointed by the governor.
