MOSES LAKE — Scott West said he thinks his new job is the right fit for him and for the Moses Lake School District. West was hired as the executive director of safety and well-being last week.

“I’m familiar with the community, the students and the families, and I know that it’s a promising school district. This is a critical time of rebuilding for the district, and I think I have some of those attributes, those commitments and the positive energy that will help complement not just the position, but the district as a whole,” he said. “I know the compassion and the love the community and the staff have for the students in Moses Lake. There will be great things happening in Moses Lake in the future, and I’m lucky to be part of it.” 

West is the current superintendent of the Warden School District. Warden School Board chair Shane Cox was not available to talk about the plan for replacing West. Warden has used a search firm to assist it in finding previous superintendents.  

“There are many great things happening in the areas of teaching and learning in Warden, and that’s why (accepting the MLSD job) was such a difficult and emotional decision,” West said.  

West was the principal at Warden Elementary School and later at Warden Middle School, before taking over the superintendent’s job. He was hired as superintendent in 2021. 

Warden staff and district patrons have worked together to support students, he said.  

“I’m very appreciative to be able to spend nine of my years in education here in Warden. There have been a lot of celebrations and accomplishments that I’ve been a part of, and none of those accomplishments have been made in isolation,” he said. “They’re all team efforts.”  

West’s job is a new position for the district and is, according to an MLSD press release, part of redesigning district administration. Yvonne Walker was hired last week as executive director of teaching and learning. That too is a new position.  

“Yvonne and Scott will play vital roles in providing leadership so that every student can achieve their fullest potential,” said MLSD Superintendent Carol Lewis. “These are not just administrative roles – they are essential to how we live out our mission.”  

West is a Moses Lake High School graduate who worked as an MLSD teacher and principal before taking the Warden Middle School principal’s job.  

Part of the MLSD job will be overseeing exterior security, West said, but there’s more to security than that. 

“I think safety goals are very similar across districts statewide – maintaining those high levels of security, to where we’re not only providing safe and secure campuses, but also a physically and emotionally safe classroom for students who come from a variety of backgrounds,” he said.