New super back home to serve
Published 12:00 pm Saturday, April 3, 2004
A native son returned home this week to be named the interim superintendent of the South Whidbey School District.
Robert Brown, 66, a former South Whidbey teacher and principal, was hired this week by the South Whidbey Board of Education to fill the position vacated by former superintendent Martin Laster.
Brown, who was living in Oregon says he wouldn’t have come out of retirement for anywhere else but South Whidbey.
“I have a special place in my heart for Whidbey Island,” Brown said during an interview on Friday.
Acknowledging some of the controversy and difficulties in the district, Brown said his goal is to bring a spirit of togetherness back to everyone in the schools.
“We’re all on the same team,” he said.
Brown’s first day in school was Thursday and most of it was spent traveling around the district meeting with principals and supervisors
“My philosophy is to include everyone so that we are all part of the same team,” he said. “It’s the way I do business. I believe I have the people skills needed here at this point in time.”
Speaking to the financial woes facing the district, Brown said he will be working closely with Ben Thomas, the district’s business manager. He said that in the future, budget numbers used by the district and presented for review by the school board will be “accurate and factual.”
Facing Brown are a number of issues including a tight budget, questions about a recent audit, personnel issues, complaints over the district’s special education program, and possible litigation by the district’s former superintendent and assistant superintendent
Brown said he has not yet read a performance audit performed for the district by the Seattle firm Moss Adams. The audit report was made public in February. Having worked with Moss Adams lead auditor Tom Krippaehne in the past, Brown said he plans to go through the audit to find out what actions need to be taken.
Board of education directors interviewed four potential superintendent candidates last week during executive sessions before selecting Brown.
Brown, who has retired from the education field twice, said he will work district staff and board members to “get the ship pointed in the right direction” before a new superintendent is hired. Brown will serve out Laster’s contract, which expires in June 2005.
“I have no intention of remaining beyond that,” Brown said.
Brown grew up on South Whidbey and raised his children here. He moved here in fourth grade and graduated from Langley High School. Following college, he returned as a teacher at Langley High School where he taught U.S. history and social studies. He was also an assistant football and basketball coach at the high school. He served as principal at the school for two years until 1976.
He was later hired as superintendent of an education service district for Chugach and Dillingham, Alaska schools. He retired for the first time in 1994. He was later asked to temporarily fill the superintendent’s position — the previous superintendent had been fired — at the Lummi School district in Whatcom County.
“I thought I would be there three months and ended up staying five years,” he said.
He worked in that position for five years before retiring again.
Brown was instrumental in securing in funding for a $25 million school. Before that students had been attending classes in portable buildings.
Brown’s son and daughter live on Whidbey Island, and his granddaughter attends Langley Middle School. Another granddaughter graduated last year from South Whidbey High School.
A public meeting was held on Tuesday during which the board voted unanimously for Brown. He will earn the same salary as the former superintendent.
