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| Superintendent Randy Merrill at the new recreation center groundbreaking. Photo by Bryant Larsen. |
This last week Randy Merrill announced his retirement. Sue and I have known Randy for many years and have watched him tackle some very difficult issues in the District. We made a list of some of the things we'll remember about him as Superintendent.
- Turned a budget that was in the red, surviving on fumes and credit card debt and turned it into a strong fiscally sound working budget
- Developed a plan for extensive repair and/or replacement of aging buildings which included a rebuild of Timpanogas and Farrer buildings
- Built Lakeview Elementary - long overdue for the West side patrons
- Retrofitted, repaired and made needed additions to numerous other buildings
- Established the Center for Accelerated Studies (CAS) believing every student deserves to learn something new everyday including both ends of the learning spectrum.
- Added successful French, Chinese and an additional Spanish Dual Immersion program becoming a leader in the state in this growing field
- Steered the District through a very tough 8.2 million dollar budget reduction creating a soft landing in hard economic times.
- Led the way in the 20/20 Vision Initiative which established Guiding Principals and Imperatives to ensure excellence in education at every level into the future.
As a new mayor Randy reached out to me and helped establish a strong working relationship between the City and the District. I wish him the best in his new endeavors.
