Lyon named to head SAD 45

    WASHBURN, Maine – David Lyon, SAD 45’s new interim superintendent, knows what it takes to make the Washburn school district thrive.
A resident of Perham, Lyon was the superintendent from 1984 to 1999, and again for six months in 2000 during a time of transition. Now, Lyon is once again behind the desk following the departure of superintendent Brooke Clenchy, who last fall submitted her resignation effective June 30. At the May 9 SAD 45 board meeting, directors voted to place Clenchy on vacation until June 30.
   Lyon officially began his duties the day after the board voted him in, and his contract is good through Nov. 9.
The interim superintendent said he was asked recently by a local resident if he would be interested in assisting the community.
“I said, ‘If I was asked by the board and voted in, I’d come in and help out,’” said Lyon. “The next thing I know, I got a call from the search committee the night before the Wednesday meeting asking if I would serve as interim. I said the same thing again, ‘If the board votes it, yes, I’ll serve.’ That’s what ended up happening.”
Though Lyon had heard the scuttlebutt surrounding the former superintendent, he never paid much attention to the rumors. Instead he decided the district needed a “known person” and agreed to serve in the post until Nov. 9.
“I had 15 good years with the district, and came back in 2000 and had a good six months,” he said, “and I figured they needed some soothing. I thought that anybody who had any experience with school finance could deal with it, it’s just going to be a lot of work, and I know I’m capable of doing that work.”
Lyon said his primary goal will be to develop a budget with the hopes of perhaps consolidating some of the positions that will become vacant at the end of the current school year.
In addition to Clenchy, several administrators including the finance director, high school principal and special education director have submitted their resignations.
“There are a lot of variables in developing a budget,” said Lyon, “but the bottom line is, if it impacts students directly, I don’t want to touch it.”
The SAD 45 board has undergone several changes in recent weeks, as well, with the resignation of several members. Resigning from the board were Connie Heald, Linda Connolly, Greg Doak, Ted Maynard, Carla Rossignol and Andrew Churchill. Newly-elected board members who have been appointed by their respective communities include Camille “Doc” Albert, Cary Schumacher, Barb Caron, Tim Humphrey, William Fox, Theresa Cochran and Mike McIntosh, who is the new board chairman.
Lyon said he will hold a board orientation for the new directors in the near future.
“We’ll go over procedures and protocols, and they’ll all be given the district policy manual,” he said. “Any policies dealing with the school board will be addressed.”
As part of the agreement with the district, Lyon will be paid $300 per day and have no benefits. Either party can terminate the contract with 20 days’ notice. He said he won’t “collect a penny until the financial mess is straightened out” in SAD 45.
“I told them, ‘You don’t need an extra expense until we straighten this out,’” Lyon said. “Our emergency budget meeting was a step in the right direction. I’ll start the budget process and monitor the cash flow. It may take a while, but we’ll get things back on track.
“I think the big thing was to settle the community, which we did at the May 16 emergency budget meeting,” said Lyon. “It gave people a chance to vent and ask questions, and now we’re going to move forward.”
In addition to doing interim work in SAD 45, Lyon spent nine months in 1999-2000 serving as the interim superintendent of SAD 32 in Ashland.