School board chair brings a depth of experience

After nine years as a teacher and 25 years as administrator, first in Illinois and most recently in Oregon, new school board chair Don Hedrick said, "no more meetings," when he and his wife retired to Sisters in 2002.

But as Michael Corleone said in "The Godfather, Part III," "Just when I thought that I was out, they pull me back in."

Five years ago, concerned about the number of rapid superintendent changes, Hedrick began attending board meetings with the thought that he could help in some way. He was soon drafted to moderate candidate's night for an upcoming school board election.

Next, he was picked to chair a 20-member long-term facilities task force put together by the board. The Sisters high biomass boiler project was a direct result of that effort.

A little over three years ago, as the district headed into the current budget crisis, Hedrick won the seat left open when Mike Gould opted not to run again.

Now he holds the gavel as board chair.

Hedrick shared his view on the current status of Sisters schools.

"By any measure that anyone wants to use, Sisters (School District) is better than any of the schools in Central Oregon, and is one of the best-performing districts in the state," said Hedrick. "With all the budget stuff, we are just having trouble keeping what we have, let alone adding new programs."

Hedrick said, "I would like to see more vocationally oriented classes, particularly at the high school. The (current) emphasis is on academic achievement and that is fine, we need that. But not every kid wants to or should go to college. We need some additional vocational offerings. Right now we don't have a lot to offer."

Hedrick's other top priorities include securing a contract extension for Superintendent Jim Golden, which he did last week.

"Stability of an administration is very important," said Hedrick. "We want to keep Jim Golden around for awhile. He is doing a great job, and we know he could move tomorrow and make a lot more money."

Based on the knowledge gleaned from his stint running the facilities task force, Hedrick also plans to continue to find ways to upgrade the facilities at the schools.

"We have been able to do that for the most part up till now," he said.

Don is a native of the Northwest. Born in Spokane, he moved to the Chicago area when he was five, only to return to the Northwest in 1992 to serve as an administrator in Klamath County and then in the city of Tillamook.

Speaking to his choice of teaching as a profession, he points to the fact that his grandmother taught at a one-room school in Illinois, and both his parents were teachers.

"Education was a family tradition. I didn't have a chance," he quipped. Hedrick's wife, Shirley, is also a retired teacher.

After retiring from education in 1991, the Hedricks ran a bed-and-breakfast in Garibaldi for 10 years before moving to Sisters to "really retire." Which, for Hedrick, simply means continuing to work in education - as a volunteer.