Lake Stevens schools chooses former worker

LAKE STEVENS — In many ways, he never left. But Dave Burgess is coming back home.

The one-time deputy superintendent and high school principal in the Lake Stevens School District was named Tuesday as the new superintendent.

Burgess will be Lake Stevens’ fifth superintendent in its nearly 50-year history. He returns to the district after having spent the past two years leading the Three Rivers School District in Grants Pass, Ore.

Burgess’ homecoming means he’ll be reunited with his family, which he left behind to take the Oregon job and has seen mostly on weekends flying between the two states.

"I called and talked to my wife (Tuesday), and I don’t think she’s stopped crying yet," Burgess said Wednesday by phone from Grants Pass. "Certainly, those that know me know that my family is the most important thing in my life. The past two years have been extraordinarily difficult."

The decision two years ago to head south came at a time when Burgess’ family was planning to move there, he said. But a variety of factors, including the lack of funding for education in Oregon, which has "absolutely hit a stone wall," led him to come back.

Burgess beat out Steve Webb, an assistant superintendent in Lake Stevens, and Tim Culver, superintendent of the Sun Prairie Area School District in Wisconsin.

Webb, who is in charge of Lake Stevens’ middle and high schools, also was a finalist for the top post in the Mount Vernon School District, but that district chose someone else last week.

Culver, a former assistant superintendent in Marysville, is still a finalist for Central Kitsap School District superintendent.

"We spent 1/2hours in session yesterday, and all three (finalists) were very qualified," said Bob Bernethy, vice president of the Lake Stevens School Board.

Bernethy said Burgess’ history in the district and his recent experience as a superintendent put him over the top.

"He didn’t just rest on his laurels," Bernethy said. "He left the district and took a job in a district that was in a lot of trouble and put them back on their feet.

"With his leadership qualities, we’re thinking he can just step right in."

That’s what Burgess plans to do. Lake Stevens’ overcrowding tops his priority list.

He also said that building relationships with employees is a priority. Lake Stevens teachers went on strike for two weeks at the start of the school year — their second strike in five years.

"I will devote much of my attention to building bridges, and hopefully everyone involved will see that is an interest that we share," he said.

Superintendent Joe Ghaffari, who retires July 1 after 13 years in the district, said he’s leaving the district in good hands.

"I see him as a person that most likely will be very stable and will stay here," Ghaffari said.

Reporter Victor Balta: 425-339-3455 or vbalta@heraldnet.com.

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