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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 18, 2019)
La Grande School District www.lagrandesd.org Volume 3, Issue 4 • December 2019 La Grande Pride Love, Care, Serve La Grande High School, La Grande Middle School, Central Elementary, Greenwood Elementary, Island City Elementary CALENDAR OF EVENTS Wednesday, December 18 Island City Winter Program (2-5) 1:15 pm Thursday, December 19 Island City Winter Program (K-1) 1:30 pm Thursday, December 19 Greenwood Winter Program (K-2) 9:00 am Thursday, December 19 Middle School Winter Program 7:00 pm Friday, December 20 Greenwood Winter Program (3-5) 9:00 am District Wide Winter Break December 23-January 3 NO SCHOOL School resumes Monday, January 6. Weds, Jan 8, 2020 Regular Board Meeting Central Elementary, 701 H Ave 7:00 pm January 20 — NO SCHOOL (Martin Luther King Jr Holiday) January 21 — NO SCHOOL (Teacher Work Day) Weds, Feb 11, 2020 Regular Board Meeting Greenwood Elementary, 2300 Spruce St 7:00 pm February 17 — NO SCHOOL President’s Day MERLE COMFORT HONORED State School Board Member of the Year school district was more important,” he said. In November, La Grande For most of his career School District board mem- years, he has worked as ber Merle Comfort became a dental ceramist, but the honored recipient of the around those hours, he 2019 “State School Board served with amazing con- Member of the Year” award sistency and dedication presented at the Oregon on the school board. He’s School Boards Association motivated by his desire to Comfort convention in Portland. serve others, he said, and Comfort was given a for that reason he began standing ovation at the convention serving on the board before he start- for his 20 ½ years of service on the ed his own family, and he stayed on La Grande School District board the board after his daughter gradu- and eight years serving on the Inter- ated. Mountain Education Service District “It was always about wanting what Board. was best for all of the kids, all the “I was on the budget committee time,” he said. in 1990 when I ran for the school Comfort explained that board board,” he said, “and I took my seat members mostly work on policies, in 1991 and stayed on the board until procedures, and decisions like hiring 1999. I came back and got involved a superintendent, or giving advice with the budget committee again in when asked. “It’s not a board where 2006, and then I ran again for the you push your own agenda to get school board in 2007.” something done,” he noted. “Schools Comfort said that he felt like he do a pretty good job of knowing had some things to offer as he was what’s best for kids and at the end still young and had time to give. of the day, you hope you hired good “Some people thought I should do people do to those jobs.” There are times, he added, when something else, but I thought the By Trish Yerges a board member knows to “stay in your lane and do the job that you’re there for and not get caught up with the minutia and micromanaging that some boards do.” During his years on the board, Comfort served as board chair a num- ber of times. During his fi rst stint of service, he was the board chair for the last two or three years. When he returned to the board in 2007, he did not immediately volunteer to chair, but when there was a turnover of board members and the need arose, he stepped in to chair for a few more years. The term of service for a board chair cannot exceed three consecutive years, he said, and then that board member must step away. “Last year was the fi rst year I had not been a chair or vice chair in a number of years,” Comfort said. In hindsight, Comfort said that he felt good being involved in one of the board’s most notable achievements, promoting the passage of the $31.5 million bond in 2014. These funds were used to build the new Central Elementary School and make many continued on page 2 The word on Enrollment... enrollment numbers as of December 11, 2019 Central Elementary 468 students Greenwood Elementary 282 students Island City Elementary 294 students La Grande Learning Aca. 25 students Middle School 564 students High School 697 students Total Elementary Enrollment 1,044 students LGSD Total Enrollment 2,338 students
