Prosser school board pool down to three finalists

PROSSER — School leaders in Prosser are deciding between three applicants to fill a vacant position on the Prosser School Board.

The man who created the vacancy by resigning is one of them.

The five-member Prosser School District Board of Directors has been one person short since Dr. Tim Rankin resigned March 3, after he learned he was not registered to vote in Benton County at the time of taking his oath in December 2007.

State law requires school directors to be registered voters in their district.

“It was a legitimate mistake,” said Ray Tolcacher, school district superintendent.

Rankin, a surgeon at Mt. Adams Surgical Associates, has since registered to vote, according to the Benton County Auditor’s office.

He has reapplied for his school board position, along with newcomers Kit Watson and Bill Jenkin.

The current school board members interviewed the three candidates Tuesday night but took no action. They may select a replacement next week, Tolcacher said, though no meeting has been scheduled.

The selected candidate will most likely face tough decisions in the next few months. The district is planning how to trim a school budget in 2010 because the state legislature may decrease education spending.

Board members also must decide whether to ask voters to approve a bond to build a new high school. They had agreed to place a $47.6 million measure on the ballot this month. However, in January, they postponed the vote to wait out the sluggish economy.

Rankin, a U.S. Army veteran, has children in Prosser schools. He has lived in Prosser since 2005 and is an orthopedic surgeon at

Mt. Adams, an office owned by Prosser Memorial Hospital.

Jenkin, a financial advisor who is building a wholesale winery, cites his past school volunteer experience in his previous hometown of Selah. The Rotary member has a daughter and a fiancé who are both teachers.

Watson, a father of two, works as a reproductive specialist for a bovine genetics company. He has lived in Prosser since 2005.