March 12, 2026 3:50 a.m. 

Days Creek School District Superintendent Joe LaFountaine has announced his plans to retire at the end of June.

LaFountaine told News Radio 93-9 FM and 1240 KQEN that in 2023 he came out of retirement to join the district as their interim superintendent. LaFountaine said he deeply enjoyed the community and recognized the need for stability, so agreed to stay on longer. However, after three years, he has decided to retire.

LaFountaine has worked in Oregon schools for 42 years. That included over twenty years at Winston Middle School plus time in Salem and in Portland Public Schools, where he was the regional superintendent for the district’s high schools until his first retirement in 2020.

LaFountaine said the Days Creek Charter School has shown increasing academic growth, enrollment and attendance in the past three years. He said the district has also become very fiscally stable in an era where much of public educational funding has been less than stable. LaFountaine believes the new superintendent will be walking into a very healthy school climate and community.

Days Creek School District has recruitment for the position open through March 31st. The board plans to conduct interviews in April and hopes to identify their new superintendent by late April. The position will begin July 1st for the 2026-27 school year.

An application can be found on the Days Creek Charter School website at: dayscreek.k12.or.us/employment-2.