Wednesday marked the final meeting for long time Manhattan-Ogden School Board member Darell Edie.
First elected to the board in 2011, Edie served three terms and was part of the board that helped craft the process of the voter approved $130 million school bond to upgrade facilities and the construction of Oliver Brown Elementary. Superintendent Eric Reid says Edie’s forward thinking during that process inspired him as well as other board members.
“Darell always tried to keep us thinking for the future, trying to stay away from short-term, think longer term. I remember you encouraging me multiple times when I’m getting short-sighted and saying I’m looking at this from a real short lens on how we can get through right now, what we can cut back. You always pushed me out to think longer term,” he said.
Edie was also on the school board during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw the board wrestling with mask mandates and hybrid learning. An emotional Edie says through all of that, the board was able to work through it.
“We worked through some tough times and being able to do that is not easy. This group did it. In 12 and a half years, the main thing is we worked together as a board and got things done and the students came first,” he said.
Edie and fellow board member Brandy Santos are being replaced on the board by Katie Allen and Greg Hoyt, who will begin their terms at the Jan. 17 meeting.
