LeFevre resigns, McMurtrey to lead district next fall

Dr. Jerrie LeFevre has resigned as superintendent of the Mountain Home School District effective Sept. 1, 2005.

The Mountain Home School District Board of Trustees accepted his resignation last Tuesday during its regular board meeting and immediatley named his successor, Curriculum Director Tim McMur-trey.

Following a district unofficial policy of promoting from within whenever possible, McMurtrey has been groomed to replace LeFevre for several years.

LeFevre, 58, will retire next fall after 31 years in the district. "I think I've put in my time," he said, noting that McMurtrey will follow a long line of "in house" superintendents that goes back to Leo Miller, Bud Light, and himself.

LeFevre grew up in Utah and came to Mountain Home AFB "right out of basic" in 1966.

After leaving the service following a tour in Vietnam, he returned to Mounain Home and began working for the district as a janitor while taking night classes on base, before going to college full time to earn a degree from BSU in Elementary Education in 1973. He earned his masters in school administration from the College of Idaho (now Albertson College) in 1976, and his doctorate in public school administration from BYU in 1982.

He taught at the elementary schools on base and at East, then became assistant principal and later principal of both elementary schools on base, during which time he hired McMurtrey as one of his teachers.

LeFevre served as assistant superintendent for six years and then was promoted to superintendent of the district ten years ago, making him one of the longest-serving superintendents in the district's history.

He said he was pleased that the board had selected McMurtrey.

"He's proven to be a real people person and he's loved by the kids and the staff. He's a known quantity and I think there should be a very smooth transition."

LeFevre said two factors triggered his decision to retire. "I'm ready. I've put in my time, and," he laughed, "after ten years I've reached by aggravation level."

But the second reason had to do with district finances. The district has been losing enrollment for the last three years and has been forced to make a number of cuts. It was time, he said, that the district administration make a major cut.

As a result, McMurtrey's position will not be filled. He will, however, continue to assume most of the duties of curriculum director as he takes on the additional responsibilities of superintendent.

LeFevre expressed his confidence in McMurtrey, noting, "he's been through pretty much all of it. The only thing he needs to learn is the budgeting" process, in which he will be heavily involved during the next year of transition.

McMurtrey, 46, grew up in Mountain Home and graduated from Mountain Home High School in 1976.

He graduated with a degree in Elementary Education from BSU in 1980, earned his masters at the U of I in educational administration in 1987, and his education specialist certification, required to be a superintendent, in 2000.

He and his wife, Cheryl, who provides tech support and testing data analysis for the district, have three children, all graduates of MHHS.

McMurtrey began his public school teaching career in Mountain Home, teaching third, fourth and sixth grade at the base schools. In 1989 was named principal at East Elementary and in 1993 moved on to become principal at Stephensen Middle School, where he led the creation of the middle-school/team-teaching concept for the school district.

He brought that concept with him to Hacker Middle School when he was named principal there in 1998. In 2000, he became the district's director of curriculum.

"It's a great challenge," he said of the superintendent's job, noting "it's great to have Jerrie there" to help with the transition.

He said he saw his initial challenges will be working on im- plementing the No Child Left Behind law, to continue to involve parents, teachers and administrators in improving the schools, and to continue the High Performance Schools program despite the fact that funding for the project has now run out.