School board members, challengers each say they know best way forward for Ki-Be

It’s incumbents who say they’ve moved the Kiona-Benton City School District forward after years of dysfunction versus challengers who say the board has too heavy a hand in day-to-day operations and done too little work on student success.

Board Chairman Tim Cook and board members Wayne Elston and Tawny Garrett are seeking re-election. They are being opposed by Julie Rheinschmidt, Dale Thornton and Michaele “Mikey” Brady Raap, respectively.

Ballots for the general election were mailed in mid-October and must be postmarked, in the Benton County Auditor’s Office or in a designated drop box by 8 p.m. Nov. 3.

State law allows school board members to receive $50 per meeting but no more than $4,800 a year. The positions are four-year terms, though the position sought by Garrett and Raap is for a two-year unexpired term as Garrett was appointed to the board in 2014.

Cook, who is seeking his second term, is a welder on the Hanford site. Elston, also seeking a second term, works for the Benton County Public Works Department in road maintenance. Garrett is a stay-at-home mother.

Rheinschmidt is a teacher in the Kennewick School District. Thornton is a plant engineer on the Hanford site. Raap has worked as a project manager.

The incumbent board members were among those who voted to remove former superintendent Rom Castilleja in early 2014. Castilleja’s tenure was characterized by frequent clashes with the district’s teachers union, leading to grievances and legal battles. Cook and Elston said relations between administrators and teachers have vastly improved and there are few ongoing issues.

“I’m really happy with how things are going. Hopefully it will continue,” Elston said.

They voted to give Superintendent Wade Haun, who was briefly a board member before, a two-year contract after he took over the district’s top job on an interim basis, despite having no prior training as an educator. The incumbent board members also have approved tighter school security through technology upgrades and allowed designated school employees to carry firearms while working.

Cook also pushed to have volunteers rather than a contracted company remove old portable classrooms and install new ones to save money.

“We have just been getting down to work,” he said.

Garrett told the Herald that the board can always improve communication but she’s excited to continue working on making Ki-Be’s schools healthy and successful.

Rheinschmidt told the Herald she has no specific criticism of Cook but said the board hasn’t set strategic academic goals nor provided appropriate resources to teachers. The board could also be more proactive in informing the public about policy changes.

“I definitely think my background in education can bring a lot to the board,” she said.

Thornton said Elston and the other incumbents “obviously had an agenda” and questioned whether they had proper reason to remove Castilleja and Kiona-Benton City High School’s former principal Wayne Barrett months later. The district needs a professional educator as a superintendent and that the board is too involved in day-to-day operations.

“That’s really all they’ve done is appease the teachers,” he told the Herald.

Raap’s campaign statement says her professional experience and training show she has the skills to make a difference on the board. While small communities with limited resources such as Ki-Be face challenges in educating children, her goal is to make the district a leading example of what small districts can achieve in the state. Raap did not respond to requests for comment and it was unclear if she is related to former board member Dan Raap, who lost his seat to Haun two years ago.

For more election stories, go to www.tricityherald.com/election.

This story was originally published October 28, 2015 at 4:53 PM with the headline "School board members, challengers each say they know best way forward for Ki-Be."