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ESD 105 will host the official ribbon cutting ceremony for the newly opened — and newly named

Members of the ESD 105 Educational Services team – a little more than half of the agency’s staff – began moving into the new building on August 2.  The main floor of the new facility now contains the operations for the agency’s special education, literacy, arts, math, and science programs.  The top floor is the new home for the assistant superintendent for Educational Services as well as staff for migrant education, early learning, school nursing, counseling, school safety, drug and alcohol prevention and intervention, and other learning support programs.

The 32,046 square-foot new building is located at 111 S. 2nd Avenue in Yakima.  It is the first modular constructed office facility in Yakima and was built at an estimated cost of $3.9 million.

The new facility joins the agency’s A.W. Allen Business Building and Fred Greenough Conference Center, which are located north of the newly added structure on 2nd Avenue.

The late Maggie Perez served the seven-member ESD 105 Board from 2003 until this past May, representing the west portion of the Yakima School District.  She also served the statewide Association of Educational Service Districts’ Executive Board for seven years, including a term as its president during 2005-2006.

Perez graduated from Sunnyside High School and was the valedictorian of her class at Yakima Valley Community College.  She continued to promoted education locally in her professional life.  She worked as the academic coordinator for recruitment for Washington State University’s College of Nursing in Yakima from 2001 until this year.  In that role, she helped students from disadvantaged backgrounds progress academic skills toward graduation from WSU’s College of Nursing, coordinated tutoring programs, and matched students with community and national nursing mentors.  She also worked as a program assistant with Yakima Valley Community College from 1988 to 2001 in a position where she helped displaced homemakers enter college.

Perez also had extensive training in Hispanic and English parenting programs and was active with the YWCA Board, the WSU Yakima County Extension Committee, the Millennium Plaza Project Committee, and the Dispute Resolution Center.  She attended Heritage University in Toppenish, graduating with a B.A. degree in psychology and a master’s degree in educational counseling.

ESD 105 Superintendent Steve Myers praised the selection of the name, saying:  “We are elated that the building naming committee chose to honor Maggie because of her leadership and commitment to improving the lives of the children and families in the ESD 105 region.  She showed unparalleled commitment in her willingness to use her skills to serve others.  The members of our staff who are working in the building that will bear her name are people who are similarly focused on providing the resources necessary to help each student be successful in school.”

ESD 105 salutes the contributions and camaraderie of Dave Curry and Elma Rodriguez as they retire from our agency in August after making significant contributions to our region's schools during the past several years.

Dave Curry, ESD 105 chief fiscal officer, retires after a total of seven years with ESD 105.  Dave first joined ESD 105 as fiscal coordinator during the 2001-2002 school year before leaving to join the West Valley School District as assistant superintendent for Business Operations.  He returned to ESD 105 in September of 2004 as assistant superintendent of Fiscal Services, and has been heavily involved with the construction of the agency's new building during the past year.  His title was changed to chief financial officer in May of 2009.

Elma Rodriguez, a veteran presence with our Migrant Education Regional Office, has also had split periods of employment during her 19 years with the ESD.  She first joined MERO as an administrative secretary in January of 1989, then left us at the end of August 2006.  She returned to her former position the following January.

Thank you, Dave and Elma, for helping make a positive impact for our region's school employees and students, and for your colleagues at ESD 105!

Yakima resident Patrick Perez is the newest member of the Educational Service District 105 Board of Directors.  Perez was sworn in during the regular monthly board meeting on July 20 by new ESD 105 superintendent Steve Myers.

Perez will represent the seven-member board for District 2, which includes the west portion of the Yakima School District.

“Having worked with Patrick over the years on several educational and community endeavors, I know he will bring a wealth of knowledge, leadership, and experience to the board,” said ESD 105 superintendent Steve Myers, whose attendance at the July board meeting was his first since starting his duties as the regional education agency's leader on July 1.

The newest board member was appointed in June to step into the same seat that was previously held for seven years by his late wife, Maggie Perez.  Mrs. Perez, who joined the ESD 105 Board in 2003, was the group’s veteran member when she vacated her position on May 3.  She died on July 4.

Mr. Perez comes to the board with an employment background in community service roles and a longtime record as a community volunteer.  He worked with Washington State Employment Security in Yakima from 1984 to 1995 as a case manager, project coordinator, and outreach worker.  He later worked at Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic as a project coordinator, parenting educator, and outreach worker from 1995 until his retirement in 2005.

Mr. Perez has been a member of the Yakima School District’s Strategic Planning Committee (1987-1990), the Yakima Valley Red Cross’s Board of Directors (1990-1992), the Yakima Habitat for Humanity’s Board of Directors (1994-1999), the Yakima Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Project Executive Board (2003-2004), and the Eastern Washington University’s Migrant Program Advisory Board (2004-2006).

Prior to moving to Yakima, he served on the Board of Trustees of the Alisal Union School District in Salinas, California, during 1974-1980.

“This is an opportunity to engage again with this region and help the educational system,” said Mr. Perez.  “Education is important to our present and to our future.  It’s what helps our youths to be properly prepared for the work force and for careers, and to be productive in their chosen fields.”

The ESD 105 Board of Directors is comprised of members who reside in seven areas of the agency’s region and who are accountable to and elected by the school board members in the region’s public school districts.  The ESD 105 Board of Directors provides direction to the ESD 105 superintendent, who is advised by local school district superintendents.

Educational Service District 105 welcomes aboard Steve Myers as the new superintendent of our agency!  The longtime area education advocate began his new duties at ESD 105 on July 1.

Before joining us, Steve served as the superintendent of the Toppenish School District from 2003 until this past June.  He was with the Toppenish School District since 1983, initially teaching social studies until moving into administrative roles.  He was the Toppenish High School assistant principal from 1984 to 1992, high school principal from 1992 to 2001, then the school district’s assistant superintendent from 2001 to 2003.

As Toppenish superintendent, Steve has facilitated the development of professional learning programs that have helped usher dramatic improvements in test scores and high school graduation rates at the 3,500-student district.  He helped create an in-district preschool cooperative in partnership with EPIC, Yakama Nation Head Start, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.  He also helped design and implement intervention processes for breakfast and homework clubs that have contributed to significant gains for students on state assessments.

During Steve’s seven years guiding the schools of Toppenish, the district has been honored by U.S. News and World Report as having one of the best high schools in the nation, by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for having the first elementary schools in the state to accomplish the National U.S. Healthier You Challenge, by McGraw Hill/SRA for having one of four elementary schools in the nation receiving its Excellence in Reading Award, and by Family Friendly Schools for implementing measures to engage families in student learning.  Toppenish schools were also selected by the Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction in recent years for its “Schools of Distinction” award.

In recent years, Steve has worked regionally with other school district superintendents within the ESD 105 area in helping improve instructional capacity programs at schools, and at the state level has served on OSPI’s Superintendents Advisory Committee.

Steve has a 39-year career in public education.  He began serving students as a teacher at the Boone Grove School District in Boone Grove, Indiana, initially as a fifth and sixth grade teacher during 1971-72, then as a high school social studies teacher there during 1972-75.  He then joined Cape Fear Academy in Wilmington, North Carolina, where he worked as an English teacher during 1976-82 then as an upper school director during 1982-83.

He obtained his B.A. degree in social studies in 1970 from Grace College in Indiana, and his master’s of science degree in education from Indiana University in 1974.

“I look forward to working with the ESD 105 staff, our 25 school districts, and our independent schools,” says the new superintendent.  “I am excited about continuing the cutting-edge learning that the ESD has provided through resources and services that result in intentional outcomes for student success.”