New Superintendent Brings A Wealth Of Experience

The 27 years of experience as a public school superintendent on Don Baumberger’s resume would seem an error at first glance.

To make the math work, Baumberger, 56, would have had to have been a superintendent at the wise old age of 28.

In sports terms, Baumberger would have turned pro after middle school.

“Did I have a great knowledge (at 28)? No. Did I learn fast? You bet,” said Baumberger, the new superintendent for the Nine Mile Falls School District.

Since being hired as the chief of the 600-student Wall School District in South Dakota before most of his peers had became principals, Baumberger has run large and small districts.

That experience will give him a unique perspective, said Baumberger, who started at Nine Mile Falls July 1.

He acknowledges that in an era of shrinking government, maintaining high standards is difficult.

Budget reductions make communication between parents and educators more important, he said.

“My educational philosophy is quality education for quality students by quality teachers,” said Baumberger. “It sounds simple and it is. The words speak for themselves.”

Baumberger, an all-state basketball and football player in high school, earned a bachelor’s degree from Huron University in South Dakota, a masters in administration from Colorado State University and certification as a specialist in superintendency, curriculum and business affairs from Chadron State College in Nebraska.

At the 6,000-student Sweetwater County School District in Rock Springs, Wyoming, Baumberger was respected for merging education and technology, including classes taught via interactive television from the local college.

He also had a history of disputes with the teacher’s association in the heavily pro-union city.

Baumberger said he has been drawn to the Inland Northwest for several years because of relatives and the area’s beauty.

Other administrative changes at North Side Schools:

After a difficult year at Chase Middle School in 1994, Rodger Lake starts as the new principal at Browne Elementary.

Chase was hit last year by racial tensions after school administrators improperly searched students’ lockers.

Phil Newsum, 34, moves from assistant principal to the top job at Glover Middle School.

Newsum said the school will use money not tied up in other areas to improve education about technology.

Currently, every teacher at Glover has a computer in his or her room.

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