
Brownville native becomes Washburn school superintendent
WASHBURN — Larry Worcester, who is originally from Brownville and is a former Washburn High School teacher and long-time Aroostook County educator, has taken the helm of SAD 45 in Washburn and is bringing a spirit of collaboration.
Worcester was hired as the SAD 45 superintendent effective May 13.
He graduated from Penquis Valley High School, the University of Maine Presque Isle and moved to Washburn in 1993 with his wife Kim, a fellow teacher and Washburn native. Worcester taught physical education at Washburn High School for 13 years and both his son and daughter graduated from the district.
Worcester spent the past four years as principal of Easton Elementary School. He said he was interested in working in Washburn and taking on the challenges and opportunities of leading the district of more than 300 students.
“I’m really excited to be back where I started and looking forward to the challenges,” Worcester said.
“We have really good people who work here. Staff care about kids and work hard. The challenge is: How do we meet the kids where they’re at and provide the best possible education and see the achievement go in a positive direction?”
Worcester is SAD 45’s first superintendent in more than two years. Former superintendent Elizabeth Ervin left in 2016 after a cancer diagnosis and died in 2018. Since the 2016-17 school year, SAD 45 has contracted with SAD 1 in Presque Isle for administration and later other services.
Worcester said the district has fiscal responsibility as a top priority and is in the midst of several collaborative, cost-saving initiatives.
Worcester is serving in dual roles as superintendent and high school principal.
“We’ve been combining a lot of things to try to save money and consolidate. We’re trying to combine as many things as possible,” Worcester said. “Everybody’s looking for ways to make the dollars stretch a little further,” he said.