Trujillo sworn in as TTSD board member

By Geoff Pursinger

The Times, Feb 25, 2010

Jaime Valdez / Times Newspapers

Manny Trujillo, left, is sworn in as a Tigard-Tualatin school board member on Feb. 18. Trujillo is the first Latino ever to serve on the board. He replaces Art Rutkin who left the board in January citing health reasons.

Tigard-Tualatin’s newest board member walked out of his first school board meeting with one thing on his mind: “It was really long.”

The meeting, including executive sessions, lasted more than six hours and board members weren’t able to head home until 11:30 p.m.

“It’s like having a second job,” he joked. “But it was good. Every time I sit up there it just becomes clearer and clearer to me that this school district is awesome.”

Trujillo, 46, joins the board at an interesting time, with new high school graduation requirements, negotiations with employee unions and the after-effects of Oregon ballot measures 66 and 67 all being juggled at the same time.

“You can’t swing a stick without coming up with something,” said Board Chair Jill Zurschmeide. “It’s certainly not a dull time to be on the school board.”

Trujillo, a customer service representative for Portland General Electric, is the first Latino board member in Tigard-Tualatin’s history. Latino students make up about 21 percent of the district’s student population. At Bridgeport Elementary, where Trujillo served as a Spanish-language liaison, that number is closer to 45 percent.

“A board should be reflective of the community that they’re serving,” Trujillo said. “I can definitely see my place on the board.”

Trujillo said that beyond his ethnicity, his unique background will help to shape the board’s discussions in different ways.

Raised on a farm in Ontario, Ore., Trujillo was the middle child in a family of 13.

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