At a special board meeting on April 22nd, the White Salmon Valley School Board voted unanimously to hire Sean McGeeney as its next superintendent. McGeeney is the Executive Director for K-12 Programs in the Yakima School District.
The district’s national search for a superintendent was conducted by Northwest Leadership Associates. The search yielded eleven applicants for the position, five of those were from out of state. Although three candidates were chosen to interview for the position, one of them accepted another position the day before White Salmon Valley’s interviews.
McGeeney and Keith Harris, Assistant Superintendent for Dickinson, North Dakota interviewed for the position. The interview process consisted of a day of touring, interviewing with students, participating in a community forum, and interviewing with the school board. The interviews and the community forums were observed, either live or via Zoom, by nearly seventy district staff and community members. Observers ranked the candidates and provided written feedback to the school board.
The school board met in executive session to review the input from the community and staff, and to discuss the merits of the two candidates. After a lengthy and considerable discussion, the Board selected McGeeney as the district’s next superintendent. Board Chair, Paul Mosbrucker, said, “We were pleased to have two strong candidates to choose from. We love McGeeney’s passion and think he’ll be a great fit for the district.”
McGeeney will begin his tenure in White Salmon Valley on July 1st.