Port Angeles Educator To Head Liberty District
Education
Liberty School District will welcome a new superintendent on July 1.
Eugene “Skip” Berquam was selected from a list of four finalists. He’s currently assistant superintendent of schools in the Port Angeles School District.
The decision was announced last week.
Departing Superintendent Donn Livoni has accepted a post in Ronan, Mont.
“We had really good finalists,” said Ione Felgenhauer, chairwoman of Liberty’s school board. “But it came down to a good match.”
“Skip is low-key, more in tune with the small town,” Felgenhauer said. “He grew up in a small town, so we think he’ll assimilate into the district well.”
The school district has about 650 full-time students. Half of those come from rural areas, and half from the suburban edge of south Spokane, Felgenhauer said.
One of Berquam’s most important tasks will be to work closely with board members, who undoubtedly will ask district voters to approve a school bond issue sometime next year.
The bond proposal has failed eight times in the past four years.
The last bond attempt, which failed this spring, would have provided the district with $6.3 million for construction of a new junior high school and additional classrooms to alleviate overcrowding in the elementary, junior high and high schools.
The elementary and junior high schools are housed in one building.
Storage rooms and janitorial closets in the elementary and junior high school building have been converted to classrooms in an effort to reduce crowding, said Lori Johnson, principal of Liberty’s elementary and junior high schools.
The high school is in need of a larger room to house the library, a larger music room, and a fire-safety sprinkler system, said Principal Tom Ashenbrenner.
Felgenhauer said school board members haven’t discussed the next bond attempt.
“Because it’s so recent that it failed again in May, we haven’t brainstormed or discussed it,” she said.
“We need a fresh outlook,” she added. “We’ve been waiting.
“We need a chance to back off and think about it and wait to talk about it with our new superintendent.”
Berquam said he’s experienced bond failures before. He said he promises to spend time talking with community members about the district.
“Even if people don’t want to pay any taxes, they must have information they can trust - that the school is crowded,” he said.
“It’s the integrity of the data that’s important to me.”
Berquam said he’s impressed with the district’s emphasis on academics.
“I’m really excited about coming into that kind of setting,” he said.
Berquam’s two children, ages 9 and 12, will attend Liberty’s elementary and junior high school.
, DataTimes