Valley School District Hires Brent Osborn As New Superintendent

Longtime educator Brent Osborn has joined the Valley School District as the new superintendent, bringing a wide breadth of experience. Osborn said he taught for nine years at North Central High School in Spokane. “I was a science teacher and coached football and track.” He said he was surrounded by “amazing leaders” who encouraged him to challenge himself. He said he left North Central and became the assistant principal at Rogers High School in Spokane for three years. “It was a great time, amazing staff, and one of the really fun times of my life,” he said. Osborn then received the opportunity to become a principal at Lakeside High School, where he worked for 14 years.

“I loved it,” Osborn said, adding that it was “the right job where you get to be the husband and the father that you want to be.” During the 2025-26 school year, his last at Lakeside High School, Osborn said he was named Washington State Secondary Principal of the Year. “It was an amazing year. Incredible. But again, I felt that pull, that challenge to do something more,” he said. “I applied to be the superintendent of Valley School District, and they said, ‘Yes.’ So now they’re stuck with me.” He continued, “I’m excited. This is a new adventure for me.

My whole [career] has been in a high school, and now I’m in a district that really doesn’t have one.” Osborn said Valley School District’s “innovation” is what interested him in applying for the superintendent position. “So often all these districts [have] elementa- ries, middle schools, high schools, and things are pretty standard. When I started looking at Valley (School District), everything I uncovered became very cool.” Osborn elaborated that he was impressed by how Valley School District has its own transport center and runs busing for multiple districts.

He also said he is excited to work with the district’s early learning center and online program, Columbia Virtual Academy (CVA). “What a gift,” he said. Osborn said his immediate goals entering the role are budgetary. “First and foremost, the job of a superintendent is to be fiscally responsible. In these trying times when things cost more, insurance costs more, gas costs more, everything costs more, I want to make sure we’re fiscally responsible and we’re serving the kids,” he said.

Osborn added, “I inherited a little bit of a fiscal concern, not a crisis. So we’re navigating that and getting it squared away.” Aside from fiscal concerns, Osborn said he’s also focused on growing Valley School District’s programs. “I want to continue to push forward the goals and vision of the school board, which is to grow our CVA program to serve more kids. Because we believe we are provid- ing a really quality product for students that choose to not be in the brick and mortar schools.”

He also said, “We want to make sure all of our kids are performing at high levels, way higher than the state. We want to do that here and provide the services to make that happen.” Osborn said the new position is not without its anticipated challenges. “We’re facing a levy cut again next year; anywhere from $140,000 to $300,000. So when that happens, we have to make adjustments and make sure that we’re still providing the best services we can for kids.” Another challenge for Osborn will be learning while on the job.

“You can fill a room with what I don’t know yet; I’m drinking from a fire hose right now. But I’ll figure it out,” he said. “My goal isn’t to just be the superintendent at Valley (School District) or have a job. It’s to create leaders in the system because sometimes we’re defined by what we leave behind. I’m hoping that I, too, can help some other people step out there and lead,” he added.