OROVILLE – Patti Garrett was chosen to fill the school director seat left empty when director Jerry Nelson retired from the board last month.

Garret, owner of Garrett Interiors and Garrett Construction, with her husband Pat, was the only candidate to offer her name up for the position. The sitting school board members, following several questions regarding Garrett’s understanding of what the board does and what is expected of her, approved her at their Monday, March 28 meeting.

When asked what she felt the school district should be working on Garrett said she would like the high school to offer more pre-college courses and more electives.

Superintendent Steve Quick announced that Vo-Ag teacher Walt Arnold and classified staff member Joan Loudon had been selected for Excellence Awards and received the awards at a recent banquet.

Quick also discussed a redistricting proposal based on the 2010 Census results. Recently the voters in the district approved a measure to switch from five school director districts to four, with one at-large position.

“Rich (Solberg) asked to have his district as the at-large position,” said Steve Quick. “We’ve come up with a proposal for four distinct districts that are within a couple people of being the same number of people in each district. These four distinct districts would actually follow roads and landmarks, making it much easier than in the past to determine where each director position is.”

The superintendent added that the four districts were also very proportional in their ethnic makeup.

Quick told the board that the proposed Board of Directors Districts were determined by a private company hired to map the boundaries based on the new Census data. He said these boundaries are available to view online at the district’s website in the board of directors’ section (oroville.wednet.edu/index.html). Quick said he plans on holding at least one public hearing to discuss the proposed boundaries for the board of directors.

“To me this looks like it will meet the law as laid out under the RCW,” said Quick. “Filing week for school board candidates is the first week of June, the proposal would have to be approved by the board’s April meeting.”

The next Oroville School Board meeting will be on Monday, April 25 at 5 p.m. in the district office located at 816 Juniper Street.