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Silt business owner fills Re-2 board vacancy

Ryan Hoffman
rhoffman@citizentelegram.com
John “Brock” Hedberg was officially sworn in as the newest member of the Garfield School District Re-2 Board of Education on Tuesday
Ryan Hoffman / Citizen Telegram |

The Garfield School District Re-2 Board of Education is back to being fully filled, following the swearing in of John “Brock” Hedberg last Tuesday.

Hedberg, owner of Hy-Way Feed and Ranch Supply in Silt and a current member of the Garfield County Fair and Rodeo Board, filled the seat vacated by Tara Rumery, who was elected to the seat in November 2015 and resigned in March after moving outside of Re-2 District D, which includes most of Silt, Peach Valley and ends near the western boundary of New Castle.

Hedberg was the sole applicant for the vacant seat of the five-member board.



He is no stranger to the district. The married father of three graduated from Rifle High School in 1998. Currently his eldest daughter is attending Cactus Valley Elementary School in Silt.

His interest in the school board was elevated in the past year or two. Being as involved in the community, Hedberg heard some concerns in the district and had some of his own, especially following the previous board’s falling out with the district’s former superintendent last fall, he said after a board workshop on April 19.



His daughter at Cactus Valley has had “great teachers” and he would like to see those teachers stay in the district. Teacher retention was frequently pointed to by candidates as a concern leading up to the November 2015 election.

Rather than sit on the sidelines, Hedberg said he wanted to get involved and the vacancy provided a well-timed opportunity.

The district had hoped to generate more interest in the position, Anne Guettler, board president, said after the April 19 work session. However, Hedberg’s name has been floated in the community for some time and one of the most important qualities any board member can have is passion, Guettler said, adding that Hedberg has that passion.

The current board has worked extensively on evaluating and constructing operating practices since last November’s election. In that regard, there will be a bit of backtracking in order to bring Hedberg into the loop, but having a full board ensures that it can continue pressing on with the important work ahead, Guettler said.

While Hedberg will work on getting up to speed, he and the other board members will have more time to work with Brent Curtice, who was officially hired in March to become the district’s new superintendent.

The Moffat County School District Board of Education voted on March 31 to relieve him of responsibilities to the Moffat district effective April 15. Last Tuesday, the board approved revisions to Curtice’s contract moving his official start date to June 1, rather than the originally agreed to July 1 start.

The contract revisions also will pay Curtice $615 per day for work prior to the new start date, with the number of days to be negotiated between the district and Curtice. Under the terms of the originally agreed to contract, he will receive an annual salary of $160,000.

In addition to attending board meetings since being named the superintendent, Curtice has visited many of the district’s schools. He said he hopes to visit all 10 schools by the end of the 2015-16 academic year.


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