After 12 years of service Renton School Board member David Merrill is stepping down after this year.

In an e-mail to the Renton Reporter, Merrill said it is someone else’s turn to take his position that provides “an education that more should take the opportunity to experience.”

When asked about what legacy he will leave behind, Merrill isn’t sure he has one but defers to the impact he’s made with other board members as a team.

Issues that come to his mind are getting technology into the classroom and encouraging training for school leaders replacing those leaving on retirement. He also said he did his part to create transparency in the board’s thoughts and direction for the public.

Merrill expressed his frustration over state government and agencies telling the board how to do their jobs, saying “if we were not excelling then, they may have a case.”

As a board member, Merrill most liked watching students excel and the “tremendous” effort put forth by administrators and teachers.

“Many times I have seen both staff and students reach down inside and do something really great,” he said. “That is where the real rewards come from. It is especially true when it comes from those we least expect – for instance, the cup stacking team at Hazen High School or singing reading lessons in kindergarten.”

With the time he devoted to the board Merrill will now fill with doing some projects that have been neglected or put on the back burner.

He has worked for Boeing as a computer system design and integration specialist for the last 12 years, in addition to serving on the school board. Last year he was laid off and now works for Boeing as a contract employee.

His list for things to do now could go on and on, he said. Merrill is married to an elementary school teacher and has five children, ages 24 to 35.