Karla LaOrange, the new D91 superintendent, shares her plans for the district’s future

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IDAHO FALLS — The new superintendent of Idaho Falls School District 91 is four months into the job and despite two public legal disputes, a growing student body and other pressing issues, Karla LaOrange says she’s excited to lead the district forward and work with the community.

LaOrange, an Idaho Falls native, is the first female superintendent in the district’s history. She sat down with EastIdahoNews.com reporter Nate Eaton to answer a variety of questions.

Watch their interview in the video player above or read it below. The transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.

Nate Eaton, EastIdahoNews.com: You began your new position on July 1. What have you thought so far?

Karla LaOrange, D91 Superintendent: You know, what I love about District 91 and Idaho Falls is the supportive community that we have, how dedicated and passionate people are about education and our incredible teachers and staff that serve our students. It’s honestly been so fun because I get to meet a lot of new people and see their passion to serving our students. It’s so rewarding to be part of this work.

Eaton: Give us a little bit of your background.

LaOrange: I moved to Idaho Falls when I was in elementary school and graduated from Idaho Falls High School. I returned here after college and I actually student taught in the Idaho Falls School District. I was a teacher, assistant principal, a principal and worked at the district office. Then I went to Brigham Young University-Idaho for about 11 years. I had this wonderful opportunity to come back to the district and be part of this tremendous work again.

Eaton: You went to BYU-Idaho, meaning you were teaching, right?

LaOrange: You’re right. I had the opportunity to teach future teachers and that was fun. I got to see education from a different viewpoint and really work with a lot of people at the state level, which has been a tremendous advantage for me as I’ve returned to District 91.

Eaton: Some people might see coming into your position five or six months ago and think, ‘Why would I go there? They’ve tried to pass a bond three or four times, the district is really growing in a lot of areas and the previous superintendent was only here for a short amount of time.’ What made you decide to throw your name in?

LaOrange: It’s those deep roots here in Idaho Falls and a driving passion (I have) working with the teachers and the community. I really want community engagement. When we work together, there is such a desire to help our students learn and we have a great school board that are very committed to our students. When you put all that together with this great community, great school board and incredible teachers, this is like the dream of a lifetime to be able to step into this.

The bond is a challenge. And it’s one that I’m sure we’ll be tackling again down the road. There are a lot of misunderstandings about bonds in some cases, but also just the challenge of financing schools. But I really believe that working together as a community, we can provide the facilities that our students need.

Eaton: I mentioned the bonds that have passed to pay for a new high school and some elementary schools, but you were able to get a plant facilities levy passed for $33 million. You need 55% voter approval for levies versus 66.6% for bonds. But then the Idaho State Tax Commission came forward and said the vote was not valid. The district is fighting that in court and we are waiting on a ruling. What is the next step?

LaOrange: What the law says is that districts can have one levy fund. We have one fund but two plant facility levies – one for our new school and one that we’ve used for maintenance of schools. They go into one fund and that’s the interpretation of the district and our legal counsel. But the Tax Commission decided to challenge that. They acknowledged at the beginning of August that they would not recognize our levy and we are disappointed.

So our board, I believe, stood up in courage and for the patrons. We passed (the levy) with almost 70% approval and we needed 55% – but we had 70%. So clearly we have a mandate from our community and the board is stepping out and courageously carrying that out. This is a question that only the courts can decide so we’re very hopeful that we will prevail and we believe this is the right work to support our students and our growing community on the south side of town.

Read the rest of the story here