SCHOOL BOARD SELECTS INTERIM SUPERINTENDENT

- Dick Mason

- The Observer

A retired educator from Western Oregon was named interim superintendent of the La Grande School District Wednesday.

Irvin Nikolai of Forest Grove was hired by the school board to serve as superintendent in 2007-08.

Nikolai will succeed Jay Rowell, who announced in April that he was resigning after five years as superintendent. Rowell will leave at the end of the month to take a position as an administrator with the Spokane Valley School District.

The school board decided to hire an interim superintendent for 2007-08 because it determined that it was too late in the school year to find a permanent superintendent.

In Nikolai the school district will be gaining an administrator with 20 years of experience as a superintendent, including 14 in Oregon.

He last served as superintendent of the Lincoln County School District for three years before retiring in 2004. The Lincoln County district, based in Lincoln City, had 6,800 students. Nikolai earlier served as superintendent of the Forest Grove School District for nine years and the San Luis Coastal School District in San Diego for five years.

Nikolai has bachelor's and master's degrees in education from Stanford University. He received the degrees in 1959 and 1961. The educator received a doctorate in education from Arizona State University in 1969.

Nikolai's wife, Lu, is also a retired education administrator. She served as principal of Banks Elementary School in Banks near Salem before retiring in 1999.

Nikolai will be paid a salary of $95,000 and have a housing allowance of up to $20,000 available to him. His compensation package, including benefits, will match what the school district would have have paid Rowell, except for the $20,000 housing allowance Nikolai will have available to him.

The board voted 5-1 to hire Nikolai following an extensive discussion about his compensation package. Steve Joseph was the lone board member to vote against Nikolai's hiring. He said he did so only because of the financial issue. Joseph said it would not be fiscally responsible to pay additional money for a superintendent at a time when the district has an extremely tight budget.

Dick McDaniel said he understood Joseph's concern but said that the board needed to go ahead and hire a superintendent.

"If we get a superintendent for this amount of money we will be well served,'' McDaniel said.

Nikolai grew up in Californian's Alameda County near Oakland. His hobbies include fishing and elk hunting. He also raises Labradors, which he enters in field dog trials.

"I love the outdoors,'' he said.

Nikolai is excited about returning to work as an educator.

"I enjoy people and I love working with teachers. I like serving and making a difference,'' he said.