Brian Ewert made it official on April 9 by signing a three-year contract with Littleton Public Schools, and will start his job as the district's new superintendent on July 1.
“This is quite an honor and very humbling,” he said, adding that he's following some “fantastic” superintendents in a “diamond” of a school district.
“We value Brian's experience as a superintendent,” said Jack Reutzel, LPS board president. “It is fundamentally important and gives him the ability to step in and continue the tradition of excellence in LPS. Brian shares our community's values for choice, which includes charter schools, magnet schools, open enrollment and preferences within the district.”
Ewert will make $220,000 a year. Scott Murphy, who is retiring after serving as LPS superintendent since 2006, has an annual salary of $239,051.
“Brian brings a lot of the personal attributes that everyone has appreciated in Scott,” said board member Lucie Stanish.
Murphy, too, placed his stamp of approval on his successor.
“I've had the pleasure of working with Brian as a superintendent of a neighboring district, and I am confident that he is a great fit for LPS,” said Murphy.
Five things to know about Brian Ewert:
1. During his time as superintendent for Englewood Public Schools, beginning in 2010, Ewert raised that district's state accreditation rating from “Turnaround” to “Accredited with Improvement,” and passed a $50 million bond and a $1.5 million mill levy to build a new middle/high school campus.
2. Ewert is the current chair of the Denver Area School Superintendents Council, which represents 23 school districts and more than 70 percent of the students in Colorado.
3. Ewert is the 2015 Colorado Superintendent of the Year, designated by the Colorado Association of School Executives. He will represent Colorado in the 2015 American Association of School Administrators National Superintendent of the Year program.
4. Ewert is an adjunct faculty member at the University of Northern Colorado, teaching education leadership classes.
5. He served in the Douglas County School District from 2000 to 2010 as a principal and then as the director of human resources. He was a principal in Academy 20 in Colorado Springs for five years before that.
