Lindsey Newton is pictured above during her presentation and interview for the Galesburg-Augusta Superintendent position June 5.
By Bruce Rolfe
The Galesburg-Augusta Board of Education unanimously carried a motion to offer current Galesburg-Augusta High School Principal Dr. Lindsey Newton the superintendent position June 5 at G-A High School following a second public interview with Newton.
Newton, a 2002 graduate of G-A High School, accepted the position after the meeting that lasted nearly four hours.
“I am beyond honored to serve the Galesburg-Augusta community as superintendent. I’m looking forward to meeting with the community and staff. Together we can discuss what and how to make G-A the best district in our county. G-A spirit is one of a kind, tapping into that spirit in all initiatives in our district will take us far! It will take every one of us in this community to help grow G-A,” said Newton.
Newton was hired as the G-A High School principal in July, 2022, signing a two-year contract.
Dr. Andy Fuehr, principal of Amberly Elementary, Portage Public Schools, and Rick Frens, current superintendent of Schoolcraft Community Schools, were also invited back for a second public interview June 3 and June 4 respectively.
Dr. Beth Peterson, magnet school coordinator, Jefferson County, KY and Dr. Danielle McGuire, director of Instructional Services, Bangor Public Schools, were also interviewed at a public meeting.
Newton served as principal at Northwood Elementary and Barclay Hills Education Center in Parchment from 2018-2022. She also spent 10 years at the National Heritage Academies from 2008-2018 where she served in multiple roles including principal, dean of students, assistant principal, middle school dean/assistant principal, and 5th grade teacher.
“I think Lindsey has a proven track record here at Galesburg-Augusta and we know her. I think in her interview process she proved to us all that she’s ready to be the next superintendent at Galesburg-Augusta,” said G-A Board President Jessica Eberstein.
Eberstein said the board will negotiate a contract with Newton. She said the posted base salary range was $125,000-$140,000.
Similar to the other two finalists, Newton offered a presentation on some of her goals, ideas and how she would like to lead the district. Newton then faced nearly an hour answering questions from school board members.
The local school district worked with West Michigan Education Research and Development Foundation to conduct the superintendent search. The superintendent search was led by Chris Rice, who recently served as G-A interim superintendent.
While the final vote to hire Newton was 7-0, three board members chose Frens as their first choice when Rice asked the board members to write down on a piece of paper their first and second choices.
Community input forms noting positive attributes and areas of concern were read by Rice.
Over an hour of board input and candidate selection discussion took place before the board voted.
The vacancy was created when current G-A superintendent Wendy Somers announced earlier she was retiring.
Eberstein said the high school principal position will be posted.
Newton and her husband Jason have two boys, Dekker (8) and Kuiper (7).
The Galesburg-Augusta Board of Education unanimously carried a motion to offer current Galesburg-Augusta High School Principal Dr. Lindsey Newton the superintendent position June 5 at G-A High School following a second public interview with Newton.
Newton, a 2002 graduate of G-A High School, accepted the position after the meeting that lasted nearly four hours.
“I am beyond honored to serve the Galesburg-Augusta community as superintendent. I’m looking forward to meeting with the community and staff. Together we can discuss what and how to make G-A the best district in our county. G-A spirit is one of a kind, tapping into that spirit in all initiatives in our district will take us far! It will take every one of us in this community to help grow G-A,” said Newton.
Newton was hired as the G-A High School principal in July, 2022, signing a two-year contract.
Dr. Andy Fuehr, principal of Amberly Elementary, Portage Public Schools, and Rick Frens, current superintendent of Schoolcraft Community Schools, were also invited back for a second public interview June 3 and June 4 respectively.
Dr. Beth Peterson, magnet school coordinator, Jefferson County, KY and Dr. Danielle McGuire, director of Instructional Services, Bangor Public Schools, were also interviewed at a public meeting.
Newton served as principal at Northwood Elementary and Barclay Hills Education Center in Parchment from 2018-2022. She also spent 10 years at the National Heritage Academies from 2008-2018 where she served in multiple roles including principal, dean of students, assistant principal, middle school dean/assistant principal, and 5th grade teacher.
“I think Lindsey has a proven track record here at Galesburg-Augusta and we know her. I think in her interview process she proved to us all that she’s ready to be the next superintendent at Galesburg-Augusta,” said G-A Board President Jessica Eberstein.
Eberstein said the board will negotiate a contract with Newton. She said the posted base salary range was $125,000-$140,000.
Similar to the other two finalists, Newton offered a presentation on some of her goals, ideas and how she would like to lead the district. Newton then faced nearly an hour answering questions from school board members.
The local school district worked with West Michigan Education Research and Development Foundation to conduct the superintendent search. The superintendent search was led by Chris Rice, who recently served as G-A interim superintendent.
While the final vote to hire Newton was 7-0, three board members chose Frens as their first choice when Rice asked the board members to write down on a piece of paper their first and second choices.
Community input forms noting positive attributes and areas of concern were read by Rice.
Over an hour of board input and candidate selection discussion took place before the board voted.
The vacancy was created when current G-A superintendent Wendy Somers announced earlier she was retiring.
Eberstein said the high school principal position will be posted.
Newton and her husband Jason have two boys, Dekker (8) and Kuiper (7).
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