WALLA WALLA -- Six school administrators from around Washington have been named semifinalists for the Walla Walla Public Schools superintendent position.

During a special board meeting Tuesday, the School Board announced the six candidates, who will arrive Saturday for interviews. The board will announce three finalists at the end of the daylong interviews.

The semifinalists are:

• Rom Catilleja, superintendent of the Kiona-Benton School District.
• Becky Imler, superintendent of the Wapato School District.
• Bob Kuehl, assistant superintendent of the Tumwater School District.
• Mick Miller, superintendent of the Deer Park School District.
• John Steach, assistant superintendent of human resources for the Richland School District.
• Dan Winter, superintendent of the Pioneer School District in Shelton.

Each candidate will participate in a one-hour interview Saturday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. To start the day Saturday, the board will call a special session starting at 8:55 a.m., and break into executive session at 5:15 p.m. to review the finalists. The executive session should last about two hours, and the board will reconvene about 7:15 p.m. in a public meeting to name the three finalists.

Maria P. Gonzalez can be reached at mariagonzalez@wwub.com or 526-8317. Check out her blog at blogs.ublabs.org/schoolhousemissives.