District extends superintendent contract

Rod Broadnax will remain the superintendent of the Grand Coulee Dam School District for another three years following an offer by the school board Monday to extend his contract.

Broadnax accepted the offer, which included a lift in pay from $142,000 a year to $160,000, plus cost-of-living increases.

Broadnax confirmed Tuesday that he had accepted the offer proffered by the board the night before. Reached by telephone, he was just returning to his office after picking up “lunch” after 4 p.m. after a day of interviewing candidates for a human resources job with the district.

Broadnax took the job in July on a one-year trial basis the board offered in 2023. The board’s decision to hire him was not universally praised, with some employees and district constituents concerned about news reports and controversy that followed him from Michigan, leading to the trial basis.

Evidently the board was satisfied with his work.

Broadnax said he didn’t ask for the raise, “but I’m glad they did it.”

He said the news made his wife and boys happy. “They know they’re going to graduate from here.”

Broadnax’s style includes a lot of visibility in the school and in the community. He’s in the school daily and seems popular with students. His yellow Hummer is noticeable driving down the street. He holds Pizza with the Superintendent nights alternating with Coffee with the Superintendent mornings each month. He’s on the board of directors at the chamber of commerce, and he has recently started a church.