LHS Principal Brett Baxter Shares his Thoughts on Stepping Down
By Garrett Christensen on Monday, May 1st, 2023 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
LA GRANDE – All good things must come to an end, whether they last a couple minutes or a couple decades. At the end of the 2022-2023 school year, La Grande High School Principal Brett Baxter will step down and transfer to a new position as assistant superintendent of the Wallowa County Education Service District. This signifies the end of a ten-year career as principal of LHS and twenty with the district overall. Elkhorn Media Group spoke with Brett, who gave his thoughts on departing La Grande as well as some of his favorite memories from his time with the district:
(EMG – Elkhorn Media Group)
(BB – Brett Baxter)
(EMG): “What would you like to say to the La Grande community about your departure from the school district?”
(BB): “One of the things that I’ve absolutely loved and will always carry with me is those relationships with staff and students. Having taught in the classroom for several years, that’s something I missed when I went into administration and so the effort is always there to get back to those relationships with kids on a regular basis. So, I’m going to miss that, that’s probably first and foremost. I have a great team and a great staff, and they do wonderful things for kids. That’s hard to leave. It’s bittersweet is the way to say it.
I’m excited for the new opportunity and to stretch me a little bit and my skill set, but I’m also excited for the opportunity to be in a role to support other administrators and staff so that they can have what they need to serve kids the best they can. On the other hand, this is my second family. I’ve had a part in hiring almost our entire staff, all but a handful. We’ve grown together over the years. So yeah, bittersweet.”
(EMG): “So you’ve been with the district for twenty years, correct?
(BB): “Yep, just finishing my twentieth year.:
(EMG): “I imagine that’s going to be quite the change then, going to a new district and a new county?”
(BB): “It is. I’ve been in the same school for nineteen of those twenty. I was at Greenwood as a principal for a year and was asked to return as a principal for the high school. You kind of get used to things. I spent more time here than I spent at home and have for many years. It grows on you. I was walking out the hall the other night, getting out to my vehicle, and the thought hit me, this is one of the last few times I’m going to walk out of this hall. It was just one of those moments where realization hits you and you go ‘wow, there’s going to be a lot of laughs here in the next couple months.’ It’s healthy, it’s good, but it’s also emotional.”
(EMG): “I imagine so. And what are you most looking forward to with your new position up in Wallowa?”
(BB): “Like I said, I think I’m really intrigued and excited about working with an ESD. I think that role is crucial, especially for small districts. We play a critical role in some of the legal reporting and budgeting and providing services that any small district can’t necessarily afford on their own. As we pool together, we’re able to provide those. That just is really exciting to me because I feel like there’s enough valid or useful experience in my time that I can share that with others. I’m a good listener, so I can hear them and know what they need and help them to improve, maybe see things through a different lens. You can’t be sad about moving to Wallowa County, I mean it’s gorgeous and the area is just incredible. I have family up there and friends. So, it’s something we’ve considered over the years, living up there. This’ll get our foot in the door.
(EMG): “Not to be too sad about this, but is there anything you’d like to say specifically to the La Grande School District students, or at least the high school students?”
(BB): “There’s lots of things I’d like to say to them. What I tell kids all the time and one of the last things I always say to them is, ‘be good, make good choices.’ I’m proud of what they accomplish, year after year. They amaze us, amaze me. Whether it’s in the classroom or on the field or the court or the diamond, it’s just really fun to see them doing really great things. When we have a kid sign with the college because he gets to go play ball somewhere else, that’s a celebration for that family and that student. They recognize that the leg up is coming from coaches and staff and all those things, it takes everybody. We had a kid get accepted into the air force academy a couple weeks ago. Those are exciting things that we love celebrating.
I hope the kids will be the best they can be and take advantage of the opportunities that LHS has to offer. If there’s room or a way to say it, I just appreciate the La Grande community as a whole just tremendously. This is such a supportive community for a high school our size. When we need help or need input, they are there. There are generations of families here, people come and stay here to raise their families. You’ve got grandparents here watching their kids and supporting them. I can’t say enough about how supportive this community is, especially as we’ve passed bonds and upgraded our facilities for kids. It’s phenomenal.”
(EMG): “Definitely a lot to leave behind.”
(BB): “For sure. When you look at all that’s happened…I was thinking out loud with my wife the other night and said, ‘so what,’ and I’m not good at tooting my own horn, ‘if I could point to accomplishments over the years what would they be.’ It actually became a really long list that I got to be part of, instrumental in some, but often just part of a great team that passed this bond, passed that bond, expanded CTE, got this grant and was able to implement a whole new program here. Just revitalize things and make sure that all the opportunities that our kids are relevant, that they’re tied to what they need in an industry or college in the real world. I’ve been able to be a part of a lot of those kinds of things. I just feel really humbled and grateful at the opportunity.”
(EMG): “Fair enough, I know the Wildcat Center has been fairly big news lately with La Grande pushing that through.”
(BB): “Yeah, and it essentially happens with no additional cost to the community, the taxpayer. It was great timing that that is available and that the Awesome Grants are available with Oregon. They haven’t always been available to facilities and schools tend to get pretty old, especially out here in the wild wild west. It’s really nice that we can do some things to update and upgrade and have a wonderful facility. We can have a great looking gym that looks cool, it’s very special to have this stadium, field and four-sided seating and jumbotron and all those things that we’ve been able to pull off. But, it’s really what we can pull off and do with those things. So that’s why I get so excited when I walk people through the building and do tours and it’s like, man, they can’t believe what we have and I say, ‘yeah, well it’s not the building. If it’s empty it doesn’t make a bit of difference.’ It’s all for kids.”
(EMG): “Definitely. And, steering back a little bit, for those that are curious or maybe not familiar with the district up there in Wallowa, what kind of work will you actually be doing as part of your new position?”
(BB): “From what I understand, superintendent Landon Braden and I, we’re going to sit down this summer and rearrange some of the things that he has done as the assistant superintendent. One of those things is to take the integrated guidance planning and budgeting and work those plans and submit those to the state on behalf of the districts up there, Joseph, Enterprise, Wallowa and Troy. So, taking that off their shoulders but also getting the funds that they need and funneling those to the right places. There’ll be some staff oversight and other general administrative duties that happen within, hiring and evaluation. I think it’ll evolve a little bit as we play to our own strengths, Landon and I. I’m really looking forward to working with Landon. He’s great, we’re good friends and we’re going to have fun, maybe too much fun.”
(EMG): “Sounds like it. Sort of wrapping this up, just for your students, what is something that really stands out to you from your time with La Grande, a favorite memory, a favorite event, that sort of thing?”
(BB): “I could talk about standing up at graduation and handing a diploma to each of those students who have worked so hard, some of whom we’ve developed close relationships with as they meet the requirements for graduation. I could talk about the senior awards where we give out tons and tons of money to all these deserving kids who really have excelled at what they do. Honestly, I think it’s about those individual and small group conversations. When I’m in my office with a kid, or when out there on the sidelines talking with an athlete, or I’m observing a class, that is just so energizing to me when you get to see learning happening and kids are engaged and excited and I get to be in there and be this observer and get to play with kids. It’s not elementary, but sometimes it feels like we get to play with them, and it’s fun. That’s energizing.”
(EMG): “Anything else you’d like to share or add?
(BB): “If I haven’t said it a hundred times, there is a wonderful staff here and I’m hopeful they’ll have a great new leader who undoubtedly has lots of great ideas and look forward to what they continue to do. I just love and care about this staff so much and I love this school and I love this district. It’s hard to leave but it’s time, and I need to challenge myself in another way. I’ll be back, I’ll watch games, I’ll be tuning in and excited to see what they do down the road.
