I encourage each of you to vote for Joey GrosJacques to Position 4 of the Pendleton School District Board of Directors. I have had the honor to know Joey throughout the last four years in my professional and personal life.

One of the first things I learned about Joey is that he is always prepared, a strong collaborator, a careful listener, and will always put students first when making the challenging decisions. He will make tough decisions in order to expand equitable opportunity for all students.

Joey’s “students first” approach knows that continuing to retain quality teachers in the district is valuable to students education. He knows the community and area well and the priorities that should be present to help with retention, a common issue in many rural districts in Oregon.

Joey is a strong believer in Career and Technical Education. He understands that not every student is always college bound, and that offering and expanding courses in CTE is vital in secondary schools in order to get students ready for careers in the community, trade schools and other vocational opportunities. In fact, I reached out to him for ideas while I was co-creating a statewide scholarship for students interested in career and technical trade schools/ certificates for community college programs.

I urge you to vote for Joey GrosJacques to Position 4 for the Pendleton School District because he believes in an equitable education, students first, and his passion for CTE programs and the benefits they provide.

Charlie Hall

Astoria

The East Oregonian does not run endorsements of more than 400 words.

The East Oregonian will institute a deadline for letters to the editor, so we can be fair with all the letters we receive and allow for responses before Election Day, if necessary.

We run local letters of endorsement on a first-come, first-served basis. Please submit your endorsement letters to the editor by 5 p.m. on Friday, May 7. You can email them to editor@eastoregonian.com, or mail them to East Oregonian, c/o Andrew Cutler, 211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton, OR 97801.

We will publish our last letters on Saturday, May 15. Any letters received after the deadline will not run. Election Day is May 18.