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Cheney School District, Washington

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Cheney School District
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Spokane County, Washington
District details
Superintendent: Ben Ferney
# of school board members: 5
Website: Link

Cheney School District is a school district in Washington.

Click on the links below to learn more about the school district's...

Superintendent

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 		This information is updated as we become aware of changes. Please contact us with any updates.

Ben Ferney is the superintendent of the Cheney School District. He was appointed superintendent on April 22, 2022, and took office on July 1, 2022. His previous career experience includes serving as superintendent of the Valley School District from 2018 to 2022, and multiple additional administrative roles in various Washington school districts.[1][2]

Past superintendent

  • Robert W. Roettger was the superintendent of the Cheney School District from May 14, 2016 until his retirement on June 30, 2022. He left the district to accept a role with the NorthEast Washington Educational Service District.[2][3] His previous career experience includes working as the superintendent of Lind-Ritzville Cooperative Schools and as the assistant superintendent for teaching and learning for St. John-Endicott Schools. Previously, he worked as a principal and curriculum director for St. John High School.[4]


School board

The Cheney School District school board consists of five members elected to four-year terms. Although each board member represents a particular district, board members are elected on an at-large basis.[5]


Elections

See also: Cheney School District, Washington, elections

Board members are elected on a staggered basis in odd-numbered years.[5]

Two seats on the board are up for general election on November 4, 2025. A primary was scheduled for August 5, 2025. The filing deadline for this election was August 6, 2025.

Ballotpedia covered school board elections in 367 school districts in 29 states in 2024. Those school districts had a total student enrollment of 12,203,404 students. Click here to read an analysis of those elections.


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Public participation in board meetings

The Cheney School District school board maintains the following policy on public testimony during board meetings:[6]

“ Public Attendance and Comment

Any member of the public may attend Board meetings, including individuals who do not live within district boundaries. The Board will not require people to sign in, complete questionnaires, or establish other conditions for attendance.

The Board recognizes the value of public comment on educational issues and the importance of involving members of the public in its meetings. In order to permit fair and orderly expression of such comment, the Board will provide a period of time during the meeting which visitors may address the Board on any topic within the scope of the board’s responsibility. The board may structure the public comment period, including determining the total time allotted for public comment and equally apportioning the minutes for each speaker. The board is not obligated to provide additional public comment time to accommodate everyone in attendance who wishes to speak. Any structure the board imposes will be content neutral.

The Board may require those who wish to speak (but not all attendees) to sign in so that the Board has a tally of individuals who wish to speak and can call them forward. When called forward, individuals will identify themselves and proceed to make comments within the time limits established by the board.

The Board is not obligated to respond to questions or challenges made during the public comment period and the board’s silence will not signal agreement or endorsement of the speaker’s remarks. The Board may control the time, place, and manner of public comment. The chair/president may terminate an individual's statement when the allotted time has passed and may interrupt a speaker to require the same standard of civility that the board imposes on itself. Examples of uncivil comments include comments that:

  • Are libelous or slanderous;
  • Are an unwarranted invasion of privacy;
  • Are obscene or indecent pursuant to the Federal Communications Act or any rule or regulation of the Federal Communications Commission;
  • Violate school district policy or procedure related to harassment, intimidation, bullying, or discrimination;
  • Incite an unlawful act on school premises or violate a lawful school regulation; or
  • Create a material and substantial disruption of the orderly operation of the board meeting

The board as a whole has the final decision in determining the appropriateness of all such rulings and can maintain order by removing those who are disruptive. However, the board recognizes the distinction between uncivil discourse, which it will not tolerate, and comments about the board, district, and / or staff that are negative yet still civil in nature, and will exercise its authority to maintain order in a content neutral manner.

In addition to the public comment period provided during the meeting, the Board will identify the agenda items that require or would benefit from opportunity for public comment and provide those opportunities as part of the meeting agenda before taking final action. Individuals or groups who wish to present to the Board on an agenda item are encouraged to request and schedule such presentations in advance. Opportunity for public comment – both oral and written – is required before the Board adopts or amends a policy that is not expressly or by implication authorized under state or federal law, but which will promote the education of K-12 students, or will promote the effective, efficient, or safe management and operation of the district. Additionally, the Board will provide an opportunity for a representative of a firm eligible to bid on materials or services solicited by the board to present about his or her firm.[7]

”

District map

School district map

Budget

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[8]

Revenue, 2020-2021
SOURCE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Federal: $4,130,000 $813 5%
Local: $18,993,000 $3,740 24%
State: $56,984,000 $11,222 71%
Total: $80,107,000 $15,775
Expenditures, 2020-2021
TYPE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Total Expenditures: $74,410,000 $14,653
Total Current Expenditures: $68,075,000 $13,405
Instructional Expenditures: $39,810,000 $7,839 54%
Student and Staff Support: $9,916,000 $1,952 13%
Administration: $7,258,000 $1,429 10%
Operations, Food Service, Other: $11,091,000 $2,184 15%
Total Capital Outlay: $1,442,000 $283
Construction: $581,000 $114
Total Non El-Sec Education & Other: $2,000 $0
Interest on Debt: $4,128,000 $812


Teacher salaries

The following salary information was pulled from the district's teacher salary schedule. A salary schedule is a list of expected compensations based on variables such as position, years employed, and education level. It may not reflect actual teacher salaries in the district.

Year Minimum Maximum
2024-2025[9] $55,304 $109,348
2023-2024[10] $48,743 $95,193
2022-2023[11] $47,094 $91,974
2021-2022[12] $45,502 $88,864

Academic performance

Each year, state and local education agencies use tests and other standards to assess student proficiency. Although the data below was published by the U.S. Department of Education, proficiency measurements are established by the states. As a result, proficiency levels are not comparable between different states and year-over-year proficiency levels within a district may not be comparable because states may change their proficiency measurements.[13]

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2018-2019 47 35-39 30-39 34 30-39 35-39 51
2017-2018 46 45-49 30-39 30-34 30-39 40-44 48
2016-2017 44 40-49 40-49 30-34 20-29 40-44 46
2015-2016 44 50-59 20-29 30-34 20-29 40-44 46
2014-2015 41 40-49 20-29 25-29 20-29 35-39 43
2013-2014 83 >=50 PS >=80 PS 80-89 80-84
2012-2013 61 70-79 40-59 50-54 40-49 60-64 62
2011-2012 64 60-69 40-59 45-49 40-49 60-64 67
2010-2011 61 60-69 60-79 50-54 50-59 50-54 64

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2018-2019 56 45-49 50-59 48 30-39 40-44 59
2017-2018 55 50-54 40-49 45-49 30-39 50-54 58
2016-2017 52 40-49 50-59 40-44 40-49 45-49 55
2015-2016 57 60-69 60-69 45-49 30-39 55-59 59
2014-2015 50 50-59 40-49 40-44 11-19 45-49 52
2013-2014 85 >=50 PS 60-79 >=50 >=80 85-89
2012-2013 72 70-79 60-79 65-69 50-59 70-74 73
2011-2012 74 70-79 60-79 65-69 50-59 75-79 76
2010-2011 70 70-79 >=80 60-64 50-59 65-69 72

The following table shows the graduation rate of district students each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2019-2020 89 >=50 <50 >=90 >=50 >=80 85-89
2018-2019 86 >=50 PS >=80 PS >=80 85-89
2017-2018 90 >=50 >=50 >=80 PS >=80 90-94
2016-2017 87 >=50 PS >=90 PS >=80 85-89
2015-2016 82 >=50 >=50 >=80 PS 70-79 80-84
2014-2015 83 >=50 70-79 PS >=80 80-84
2013-2014 84 PS PS 70-79 PS 80-89 85-89
2012-2013 86 >=50 >=50 60-79 PS >=50 85-89
2011-2012 82 >=50 PS 40-59 PS >=50 85-89
2010-2011 85 >=50 >=50 >=50 PS PS 85-89


Students

Year Enrollment Year-to-year change (%)
2022-2023 5,540 3.3
2021-2022 5,358 5.2
2020-2021 5,078 -3.7
2019-2020 5,268 2.4
2018-2019 5,141 5.7
2017-2018 4,847 3.1
2016-2017 4,696 3.0
2015-2016 4,554 1.9
2014-2015 4,467 4.1
2013-2014 4,283 2.3
2012-2013 4,185 2.2
2011-2012 4,091 2.4
2010-2011 3,992 2.5
2009-2010 3,893 0.4
2008-2009 3,877 3.1
2007-2008 3,758 1.5
2006-2007 3,702 4.2
2005-2006 3,545 3.3
2004-2005 3,429 -0.2
2003-2004 3,436 -1.4
2002-2003 3,485 0.9
2001-2002 3,455 -2.1
2000-2001 3,527 0.7
1999-2000 3,504 0.0
Racial Demographics, 2022-2023
RACE Cheney School District (%) Washington K-12 STUDENTS (%)
American Indian/Alaska Native 1.8 1.1
Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander 2.1 8.7
Black 1.7 4.8
Hispanic 14.1 25.6
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 2.9 1.4
Two or More Races 7.4 8.8
White 70.0 49.1

Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.


Staff

As of the 2022-2023 school year, Cheney School District had 326.06 full-time classroom teachers. The student-teacher ratio was 16.99.

Teachers, 2022-2023 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF TEACHERS
Prekindergarten: 5.87
Kindergarten: 24.61
Elementary: 142.66
Secondary: 152.92
Total: 326.06

Cheney School District employed 7.50 district administrators and 18.74 school administrators as of the 2022-2023 school year.

Administrators, 2022-2023 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF ADMINISTRATORS
District Administrators: 7.50
District Administrative Support: 17.77
School Administrators: 18.74
School Administrative Support: 18.10
Other staff, 2022-2023 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF OTHER STAFF
Instructional Aides: 70.87
Instruc. Coordinators & Supervisors: 13.98
Total Guidance Counselors: 18.00
Elementary Guidance Counselors: 6.00
Secondary Guidance Counselors: 12.00
Librarians/Media Specialists: 1.45
Library/Media Support: 0.00
Student Support Services: 28.96
Other Support Services: 103.80


Schools

The Cheney School District operates 12 schools. They are listed below in alphabetical order.
List of schools
SCHOOL NAMENUMBER OF STUDENTSGRADES
Betz Elementary534PK-5
Birth To Three28PK-PK
Cheney High School1,4769-12
Cheney Middle School6266-8
Cheney Open Doors97-12
Homeworks128KG-12
Phil Snowdon Elementary549PK-5
Salnave Elementary309PK-5
Sunset Elementary588PK-5
Three Springs High School1169-12
Westwood Middle School5856-8
Windsor Elementary592PK-5

Contact information

CheneyPublicSchoolslogo.jpg
Cheney School District
12414 S. Andrus Rd.
Cheney, WA 99004
Phone: 509-559-4599


About school boards

Education legislation in Washington

Bills are monitored by BillTrack50 and sorted by action history.

See also

Washington School Board Elections News and Analysis
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External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Cheney Public Schools, "Superintendent," accessed September 14, 2023
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Spokesman-Review, "Cheney School Board selects new superintendent from district in Stevens County," accessed September 14, 2023
  3. ↑ The Spokesman-Review, "Cheney superintendent Robert Roettger announces ‘bittersweet’ transition to lead ESD101; no successor named yet," accessed September 14, 2023
  4. ↑ Cheney Free Press, "Roettger takes over at CSD," May 19, 2016
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Cheney Public Schools, "Policy No. 1110: Election of Board of Directors," accessed January 24, 2022
  6. ↑ Cheney Public Schools, "Policy1400 - Order of Business, and Quorum," accessed January 23, 2024
  7. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  8. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed June 17, 2024
  9. ↑ Cheney School District, "COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT between CHENEY EDUCATION ASSOCIATION and CHENEY SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 360 ," accessed April 21, 2025
  10. ↑ Cheney School District, "COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT between CHENEY EDUCATION ASSOCIATION and CHENEY SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 360 ," accessed February 2, 2024
  11. ↑ Cheney School District, "COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT between CHENEY EDUCATION ASSOCIATION and CHENEY SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 360 ," accessed February 2, 2024
  12. ↑ Cheney Public Schools, "Collective Bargaining Agreement Between Cheney Education Association and Cheney School District No. 360," accessed January 24, 2022
  13. ↑ U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC: EDFacts, "State Assessments in Reading/Language Arts and Mathematics- School Year 2018-19 EDFacts Data Documentation," accessed February 25, 2021
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