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