Just weeks after retiring as superintendent of Westbrook schools, Stan Sawyer has already found a new job.
Starting in the middle of August, Sawyer will be working part-time as a consultant for the school construction and facilities division of the Department of Education.
“It deals with three areas that I find very interesting. One is finances and money. One is construction, which I’ve always had a keen interest in, and the third area is dealing with people,” Sawyer said Tuesday. “That’s one area that I’ve already missed the most.”
Sawyer, 63, retired at the end of June after serving as the district’s superintendent for 10 years. He was replaced by Reza Namin, who had been superintendent of the Ralph C. Mahar Regional School District in Orange, Mass.
In his new position, Sawyer will be reviewing and revising the application for state funding for new school construction projects, which is sent out to school districts every few years, including this fall.
When the applications come back to the Department of Education in the spring, Sawyer will be part of a three-person panel that reviews them and goes on site visits to the schools. He’ll be helping to inspect the buildings and rank which ones are in the greatest need of renovations, then give recommendations to the commissioner.
“I’ve got a lot of to learn,” Sawyer admitted, though he’s led both Westbrook and School Administrative District 52 in Turner, where he also served as superintendent, through many construction projects.
The biggest undertaking of his career, Sawyer said, was the $33.5-million Westbrook Middle School, scheduled to open in December. During the past decade, he also oversaw major renovations to the Congin School and Westbrook High School. While Sawyer was superintendent of SAD 52, the district built a primary school and a middle school and renovated two elementary schools and the high school.
Sawyer said construction appeals to his creative side and is satisfying in a different way than teaching is.
“You can actually be involved in something that is very tangible, where you see the end results, you see the building,” he said.
And being part of those projects has helped Sawyer leave his legacy on the districts he’s led.
“It’s leaving something that you can be proud of for future generations,” he said.
Stan Sawyer talks with City Councilor John O’Hara during a tour of the nearly-finished middle school last month. Sawyer, who retired at the end of June, will work part-time as a consultant for the school construction and facilities division of the Department of Education.Send questions/comments to the editors.
