Janice Barter of the School Administration District 61 School Board found it easy to sum up why the eight-member panel voted unanimously for Patrick Phillips to replace departing Superintendent Frank Gorham.

“He’s certainly eager and enthusiastic and that defiantly came through in the interview,” said Barter, who was head of the search committee.

Current SAD 61 Superintendent Frank Gorham will retire end of June 30, after 11 years in the district, three as superintendent. Phillips will take the reigns of SAD 61 on July 1.

Phillips, who served as deputy commissioner for the Maine Department of Education, has admirers throughout the state as well.

When told Phillips was chosen to be the new superintendent of SAD 61, Dr. Mark Eastman, superintendent of SAD 17, breathed a sigh of satisfaction.

“I like a lot of things about Patrick. He’s very knowledgeable, he’s just an incredible hard worker,” said Eastman. “He will do whatever it takes to get the job done.”

Eastman has known Phillips, for two decades and worked with him to improve the Maine Learning Results standardized test from 2000 until 2005.

Eastman said Phillips, who comes with a resume jam-packed with both educational and nonprofit experience, is dedicated and brimming with knowledge, but also shows respect and good spirits in the course of his duties.

“I have a great deal of respect for his problem-solving ability,” said Eastman. “As a superintendent, that’s something you need.”

And challenges are waiting for him at SAD 61. In anticipation of receiving $2.4 million less in state funding next year, the district has had to make dramatic cuts from the special education program and most of the other departments. This includes cutting four teaching positions and nine educational technician positions.

“The school funding side of things is going to be very tough,” said Phillips. “We’re going to have hard choices.”

Phillips is currently the executive director of the Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools, Council for Excellence in Government, a nonprofit group that promotes knowledge about social studies and active participation in democracy.

Peter Yarrow, from the 1960s folk trio Peter Paul & Mary, is a member of the advisory committee. He is also a colleague of Phillips’ in the United Voices for Education, a coalition of 42 national education organizations.

“Patrick is one of two co-chairs of this coalition and has guided us with amazing skill and depth of understanding and wisdom from our inception,” said Yarrow.

Phillips also sits on the board of a number of education task forces, including the Maine Coalition for Excellence in Education.

Phillips said he is considering consolidating SAD 61 educational programs into a fewer number of schools.

“The folks that are worried about those kinds of issues are also going to be worried about their tax dollars,” said Phillips. “People will not want to see 10, 15 percent increases in taxes.

A long career

“My history has been mostly about systems of learning and professional development,” said Phillips. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Oklahoma and got his teaching certificate in Denver. He and his wife moved to Maine in 1984

In 1987 he got his master’s degree in public administration from the University of Maine and became the coordinator of special projects at the Maine School Management Association in Augusta where he analyzed school policies, wrote a newsletter and ran seminars and workshops for education administrators.

Phillips taught fifth- and sixth-grade at James Bean Elementary School in Sidney from 1990 until 1993 and then became the principal of Blue Hill Consolidated School. In 1999 he worked directly for the Maine Department of Education as a distinguished educator for the Maine Learning Results program.

He was the assistant superintendent in Windham in 2000 and 2001 and then in SAD 28 from 2001 to 2003.

That is when he got a call from Sue Gendron, who left the Windham School Department as superintendent to become the commissioner of the Maine Department of Education. She wanted him to be deputy commissioner.

Phillips declined. Gendron asked again, and he declined a second time.

“It eventually became an offer I couldn’t refuse,” said Phillips with a deep laugh. “Sue is a very compelling person.”

After serving as deputy commissioner from 2003 to 2006, Phillips took a position in Washington, D.C., with the Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools. He said he has witnessed a dramatic decline in social studies programs in middle and elementary schools and wanted to do something about it.

But two years later, he said he missed Maine and wanted to find a way back, so he made some calls to some of his professional colleagues to see what superintendent positions were open.

“The size of SAD 61 was very appealing to me,” said Phillips. “I’m not keen on districts that are really large, I would like to have a school district small enough that I can get to know the teachers.”

“I think Patrick is a very good choice to follow Frank Gorham’s tremendous work in Bridgton and the surrounding communities,” said Gary MacDonald, superintendent of SAD 72. He said Phillips is well informed, able to communicate his positions very well and always tries to get different points of view on any given topic.

“He’s got a great sense of humor, and you need that today,” said Eastman.

For now, Phillips said he’s looking forward to living in Maine again. He has a daughter attending Camden Hills Regional High School and another is majoring in political science at the University of Southern Maine. He also enjoys swimming and hiking, but said sailing is his real passion.

“From my experience with him, he never backs down from a challenge and he’ll work very hard for the citizens of SAD 61,” said Eastman.

PatrickPhillips: Patrick Phillips will take over as superintendent of SAD 61 in July after Frank Gorham retires. Phillips, who was the deputy commissioner of education for the state of Maine as recently as 2006, said his job would be to make sure students receive a proper education with a very tight budget.