Deer Park School Board Announces Vacancy After Long-Serving Member Departs

Longtime Deer Park School Board member Eric Keller retired last week and the school district is seeking someone to replace him. District Superintendent Alexa Allman said the board will miss Keller. “He is one who just wants to give back to the community,” she said. “He cares about the district, he cares about the kids. He was just great to work with.” Allman said Keller kept himself busy by going to games and other school events. During the time he was the chair of the board he worked hard to find profession- al learning opportunities for the board, she said. He also went to conferences and met with legislators to advocate for kids. Allman said Keller was always very supportive of district employees. “He knows the school district is directly connected to the community at large,” she said. “The district’s success is the community’s success and he knows that.” Allman said Keller was there when the district expanded the high school and built a new elementary school and he holds a lot of historical perspective. “He brought with him a lot of knowledge and history,” she said. Keller said he was born and raised in Deer Park. He and his wife, Debbie Keller, both graduated from Deer Park High School, as did their four children – three daughters and one son. Keller left the area briefly to attend the University of Idaho and then worked for Boise Cascade in Goldendale, Wash., for a few years before re- turning to Deer Park. Keller said he was appointed to the school board to fill a vacancy in 2006 and he has been re-elected several times since then. He add- ed that his name was usually the only one on the ballot, but he did have a challenger one year whom he beat by only 14 votes. Keller said his wife encouraged him to put his name in for the va- cant school board seat. “We tried to be a part of our kids’ schools,” he said. “When the position opened here, she talked me into it.” Through the years, Keller coached his children in club or Little League football, softball, and wrestling. He said he never coached for the district because that would have been a conflict of interest given his position on the board. He stopped coaching once his youngest started high school. Keller said he’s grateful he was selected to serve on the board 19 years ago and that he’s learned a lot about how school districts function. “It takes a long time to learn how school finance works,” he said. “I understood business really well but understanding the government side was really hard. It was a huge learning curve for me.” During his tenure, he helped hire three superintendents and said he’s grateful he got along well with his fellow school board members. “You have to remember you’re there for the kids,” he said. “You’re elected by the people for the kids. Not all kids are the same, but you have to be there for all kids.” Keller said whenever he was making a decision, he always asked himself if it was the best decision for the kids and if it wasn’t, it probably shouldn’t be done. While many of the games and events he attended over the decades were something his children were involved in, not all of them were. He came to enjoy the theater and musical performances. “I loved going to band concerts, even though none of my kids played in band,” he said. Going to events also got him out in the community, he said, where people could ask him questions or talk about their concerns. “If you’re out there, you get to hear from people,” he said. Even after his children graduated, Keller kept going to games. He said football and softball still have a special place in his heart. His youngest is 24 now and with grandchildren in the picture, Keller wants to have more time available for his family. He’s also still working as the Forest Practice District Manager for the Washington State Department of Natural Resources. “Life happens,” he said. “I have lots of things going on. I have grandkids now. It’s just time to let some other people do it.” For more information about the district's plan to hire a new board director, visit dpsd.org. Allman said the board will conduct interviews at a later public meeting