AUBURN — The School Department has hired a retired Navy pilot and former Catholic high school principal to be the assistant superintendent.
Keith S. Laser, who was principal of Holy Name High School in Reading, Pa., will start his new job on Aug. 1, Superintendent Katy Grondin told the Auburn School Committee on Wednesday night.
There was no committee vote on the position. The committee votes on the superintendent, and the superintendent hires all other staff.
Laser’s annual salary will be $90,000. He is not taking health care, Grondin said, since he has health care from his military service.
Laser will fill the assistant superintendent position left vacant by Grondin when she became superintendent July 1, taking over for Tom Morrill, who retired June 30.
Laser began his military career as an officer after graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1976. He retired in 1996 as a commander. During his 20 years, he flew more than 3,000 hours and commanded an aviation squadron of 60 officers and 200 enlisted personnel. He also served as an instructor pilot, and at another point, was third in line for command on an aircraft carrier.
After retiring from the Navy, he worked as principal of elementary schools in Maryland, Michigan and Pennsylvania. In 2003 he became principal at Holy Name High School, a position he held until this year.
“He comes to us with lots of experience from multiple places,” Grondin said. “He’s looking forward to joining us and moving his family to Maine. He does have relatives in Maine.”
Laser is excited about the Auburn schools’ use of technology in education, she said. “Where he was as a high school principal, it was a very traditional high school.”
At Holy Name, he introduced many technology improvements, including online classes, online grade books, SMART boards in every classroom, a wireless network infrastructure and integration of Apple hardware and software throughout the school.
Laser will be introduced in Auburn at the Aug. 3 School Committee meeting, Grondin said.
Before hiring him, Grondin said she advertised nationally and interviewed three candidates.
She described Laser as having a collaborative style, being student-centered and eager to learn. “His philosophy matches ours,” she said. “He’s forward-thinking.”
bwashuk@sunjournal.com
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