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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (May 30, 2018)
Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, May 30, 2018 John Day council gives Green a raise Hallgarth selected as school superintendent in Prairie City Humbolt sixth- grade teacher moving to administration Other city staff compensation under review By Angel Carpenter By Richard Hanners Blue Mountain Eagle Blue Mountain Eagle A new superintendent/ principal will take the helm at Prairie City School Dis- trict next fall. Humbolt Elementary sixth-grade teacher Casey Hallgarth will leave his cur- rent position in June and be- gin his new job July 1. Julie Gurczynski, who has led Prairie City School for the past three years, submitted her resignation with plans to move closer to family at the end of the school year. Hallgarth, who moved to John Day four years ago to work for Grant School Dis- trict, said becoming an ad- ministrator is something he’s been working toward for a long time. “It’s a great opportunity for me and my family,” he said, adding he didn’t think an opening would present itself this soon. He said he’s been working on his administrative degree while gaining teaching expe- rience. “When I put my name in the hat, I thought what a great learning experience it would be for me,” he said. “They gave me a call to offer the job.” Lindsay Rausch, school board chairman for the Prai- rie City School District, said she and others have been im- pressed with Hallgarth. “We were struck by his initiative,” she said. “He’s shown a lot of interest in our school. He’s attended the last five or six school board meet- ings.” She said another draw is Hallgarth’s interest in staying in the community and learn- ing about being an adminis- trator in a small community. “Between the enthusiasm and positive interview in a town hall forum with com- munity members, board mem- bers and staff, we took input from all three parties, and he Eagle file photo John Day City Manager Nick Green. He told the council he per- sonally liked to see the city run with the leanest number of staff possible, but there were caveats. “We are in a difficult po- sition because we are trying to recover from 30 years of population and economic de- cline,” he said in his council memo. “The city should not make financial commitments today that it cannot afford in future years or that would delay our economic recov- ery. At the same time, we need to recognize that under compensating our staff may result in higher employee turnover.” The institute found that John Day city salaries were below market in every cate- gory. At the same time, John Day was the only city in the survey to pay overtime to department heads other than the city manager. The institute also found that John Day offered a max accrual of 260 days sick leave while other cit- ies offered from 10 days to unlimited. Health insurance benefits were considered competitive, with John Day at the low end. And while most cities offered 10 to 12 paid holidays per year, John Day offered eight with two floating holidays. In his memo to the coun- cil, Green said compensation for salary staff should be based on market conditions, experience, job requirements and the city’s ability to pay. “In addition to these fac- tors, there are ethical consid- erations about what is just and fair,” Green said. “The salaries public employees re- ceive impact public percep- tion and trust.” The city’s non-union sal- aried workers are currently classified into 14 grades, each with seven steps about 5 percent apart. An alter- native approach is perfor- mance-based compensation. Green recommended chang- ing compensation for depart- ment heads from the step- grade system to a salary with a bonus provision. Green said next year’s budget allows for spot ad- justments to salaries that are significantly below market, adding two paid holidays and capping sick leave accrual at 90 days. In the future, the city could consider consolidating all sick leave, comp time and vacation into one paid-time- off category, he said. The council reacted fa- vorably to Green’s propos- al. Mayor Lundbom and Councilors Shannon Adair and Steve Schuette said they liked the recommendation. But the suggestion that work- ers under the step-grade sys- tem received automatic pay raises was corrected by Hol- land, who noted that in his 37 years experience with the city, workers were reviewed annually. Pay increases were still an earned raise, and the step-grade system was only a guide, he said. Councilor Brandon Smith asked about the potential im- pact on people from outside the area who might look for a job with the city of John Day, and whether they would find the city’s compensation package unattractive. Green responded by noting that his recommendation for now was only for the department heads. matched the cri- teria for what everybody said they wanted,” she said. “He was a unani- mous choice.” Casey Nancy Hitz, Hallgarth vice chairman of the board, was one of those unanimous voices. “I’m really excited, and I welcome Ca- sey and the Julie leadership he’s Gurczynski bringing to our school district,” she said. Gurczynski said she’s en- joyed her experience working for the district. “The staff worked ex- tremely hard for past three years, and we saw significant growth in our test scores,” she said. Math scores went up 8 per- cent, English and language arts up 9 percent and science up 10 percent, she said. In the past year, the ele- mentary students also had a 10 percent increase in their DIBELS reading scores. Gurczynski was also pleased to receive a grant to become an Oregon Response to Intervention district at the grade school. “We truly have a great staff at Prairie City Schools, and I will miss working with them,” she said. “I will also miss the students.” The students have been friendly, hardworking and fun to be around, she said. “I loved sitting in the stands watching the ball games, being part of the FFA barbecues and clean-ups, at- tending the carnival and fun run, plus participating in the homecoming week activi- ties,” she said. She said, “I wish for all the students that all their dreams will come true.” Hallgarth said Prairie City School is “on the up side.” “They already have a great staff established and traditions there,” he said. “I just want to emphasize those qualities and try to make them better. What they have going on right now is great. It’s a tight-knit com- munity.” Besides teaching, Hall- garth has also enjoyed coach- ing. He led the Grant Union girls basketball team as head coach to fourth place at the state championships this year. He also coached Grant Union junior high football and was an assistant varsity coach. Be- fore arriving in John Day, he coached basketball and foot- ball in Elgin for seven years. While at Grant School District, he organized trips to Washington, D.C., for his sixth-graders to take when they reached eighth grade, fundraising during the two years. Hallgarth and his wife, Heidi, have two children, Cameron, who will soon graduate from Grant Union, and Quinten, finishing his freshman year. Heidi is the of- fice manager at Grant School District. When asked what he’ll miss about teaching, Hall- garth said seeing the students grow throughout the year. “They become your class,” he said. “We form a bond, and as teachers we take pride in those relationships.” Hallgarth said he hopes to bring leadership qualities, as well as cohesiveness, to cre- ate a better team atmosphere at Prairie City School District. “You have teachers who want to make a difference, coaches, classified staff, ev- erybody, they’re there for the right reasons, and that’s the goal, to be there for the kids and their education,” he said. Monday - Thursday 7am- 6pm Friday 8am - 5pm Mendy Sharpe FNP Apppointments available 54395 The John Day City Coun- cil unanimously approved an increase to City Manager Nick Green’s compensation package at their May 22 meeting. Councilor Dave Holland, who led the performance re- view and compensation eval- uation effort for the council, recommended an 8.4 percent increase to Green’s salary, a $10,000 payment for the ex- tra work Green handled over the past year and a 1 percent administrative fee on future grants that allow that type of compensation. Green’s salary increase from $69,721 to $75,578 per year will start with the new fiscal year on July 1. The $10,000 payment was made effective May 1. Anna Bass of Oster Pro- fessional Group, who helps Green develop a budget for the city, said the salary in- crease and $10,000 payment were included in the next fis- cal year’s budget. The council held a pub- lic hearing on the fiscal year 2019 budget as approved by the city’s budget committee and will vote to approve the $11.5 million budget at their June 12 meeting. Green told the council that engineers and other con- sultants who are involved in grants for cities typically want from 3 percent to 20 percent of the grant funding. He also noted that hiring an- other person to handle grants would cost the city more. The council also learned the results of a salary sur- vey and total compensation analysis of non-union staff by the Local Government Personnel Institute. The sur- vey looked at pay for 13 city positions and city compensa- tion policies and compared them to 10 cities in Oregon. Green said John Day had not conducted this type of analysis in a long time and noted, while each city han- dles pay and compensation differently, John Day’s de- clining economy is unique. A3 Wine & Chocolates! June 2 Taste wine from Echo Ridge Cellars, paired with Arrowhead Chocolates. � 18TH ANNUAL � Grant County Quilt Show A scenic 4-hour evening ride. Departs Elgin at 4 p.m. PRESENTED BY the Grant County Piecemakers Quilting Guild FRIDAY and SATURDAY Every other Monday in John Day at What are you doing for Father’s Day? Train Robbery - Saturday or Sunday Blue Mountain Hospital 170 Ford Rd. • 541-575-1311 Book online, eaglecaptrainrides.com or call 800.323.7330 June 8th & 9th 2018 Fri. 9am to 6pm & Sat. 9am- 4pm Grant County Fairgrounds Trowbridge Pavilion, John Day, OR $5.00 FOR BOTH DAYS Great things are happening! EOU Join our School Today IS Men’s track & CONNECTED field team reclaims CCC conference title, bringing home its fourth championship Indian Arts Festival and Spring Pow Wow celebrated 48 years at EOU 30th annual Spring Symposium showcases undergraduate research and creative projects on May 23 For more information visit eou.edu/connected Love to Learn! Class sizes are limited ENROLL TODAY SONSHINE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL Registrations being accepted for 2018-2019 We offer a high-quality school- readiness program for little learners. *Eligibility requirements apply. Pre-Kindergarten: 3 days a week, (T, W, TH) (AM) 9:00-11:30, or (PM) 12:30-3:00. Must be 4 years old by Sept. 1, 2018. Pre-School: 2 days a week, (T, TH or M, W) 9:00-11:00 am. Must be 3 years of age by Sept 1st, 2018. Register before July 31st Office hours: Tues-Thurs 9:00 am-3:00 pm Summer hours: 9:00 am-1:00 pm SONSHINE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL 521 E Main Street John Day 541-575-1895 or 541-968-9865 office@ johndaynazarene. com 51513 FEATURING Quilts of Valor P ATRIOTIC Q UILTS M ADE F OR V ETERANS Sunday workshop on the Woven Star Taught by Mary Lou Drury of Heartfelt Quilts and Karen Hinton of The Shiny Thimble Workshop is Sun. June 10th 9am- 4pm $20.00 Bring your own kit to work on or work on a patriotic community quilt kit Vendors for lots of shopping include: Lou’s Heartfelt Quilting, Marilyn’s Pickets and Patchwork, Quilts and Beyond, Shiny Thimble Quilt Studio, & Thimbles and More. There will be a delicious menu to choose from. Door prizes & special awards too! Our guild will be selling raffle tickets for this gorgeous quilt and drawing a name on Saturday. For Information or class sign up send email to gcpiecemakers@gmail.com Or call Lou’s Heartfelt Quilting (541) 620- 2798 or The Shiny Thimble (541) 932- 4111
