MIDVALE — Barry Newbold is back where his long association with the Jordan School District began, Midvale Elementary School.
During an interview to discuss his recent retirement as district superintendent, Newbold paused at the doorway of his first-grade classroom. His teacher's name was Mrs. Probst and at the time, she seemed quite old to him.
The next stop was the custodian's closet. "I spent a lot of time in here," Newbold said, picking up a broom for old time's sake. At age 13, he got his first job with the school district sweeping the floors of the now 61-year-old elementary school.
"I swept and waxed these floors. I cleaned the bathrooms."
Many years later, the school would again figure prominently into Newbold's 35-year professional career with the suburban school district. It would be among 43 schools that would eventually become the Canyons School District in the historic split of the Jordan District, then the state's largest.
Newbold, appointed superintendent in 1996, faced a west-side constituency that vehemently opposed the split and had no choice in the matter under state legislation that created the process for such a division.
On top of the fury over the split, there was also a reduction in revenue, which would be compounded by the recession. There were legal challenges, layoffs and other unpopular financial measures, such as a decision by the Utah Legislature that required other school districts in Salt Lake County to give a portion of their building money to the reconstituted Jordan District to help it keep up with its growth needs.
"Those were very difficult years, personally. Many of the people who lost jobs were people I worked with for a long time," Newbold said.
For that matter, he had a long professional relationship with many of the educators and staff who became part of the Canyons School District. Newbold's entire professional career, aside from teaching college courses, was spent in the Jordan School District. A graduate of Hillcrest High School, Newbold taught elementary school, was a principal and district-level administrator before serving more than 14 years as superintendent.
Many a morning during the transition, Newbold said he looked in the mirror and would ask himself, "Why do you keep doing this?" It was a legitimate question considering that he had long since qualified for retirement.
Setting aside the politics, financial challenges, administrative headaches and community outrage, the answer to the question, he said, was to insulate students and educators from "the things that kept me up at night" so they could concentrate on learning and teaching.
"My goal was always to have the whole district split, from a student perspective, be a nonevent when it finally happened."
Newbold said he believed his years of experience as an educator and administrator would be useful in guiding the school district through the transition. Handing the reins to a newcomer during a period of such uncertainty "I don't believe, would have been a healthy circumstance."
Dave Doty, the inaugural superintendent of the Canyons School District, credits Newbold for his efforts to ensure Canyons got off to a strong start.
"We've had to work through a lot of issues together over the last couple of years. I had a relationship with Barry Newbold that I knew he'd be a person of integrity, that he would treat me professionally even if we had to take opposing positions."
After Doty was appointed superintendent, Newbold invited him to his office. He handed him a large, white three-ring binder full of information about Jordan's budget, organization and administration.
"It was such a treasure trove of information," Doty said. "It meant I didn't have to track things down or hunt it down or ask 1,000 different people for that information."
Next, Newbold lent Doty three office employees. Doty, who was a one-man band in the early days of the start-up district, welcomed the help. "He didn't have to do that. He could have said, 'Hey, you're on your own.'"
Although they were the key figures in the controversial school district split, Newbold's and Doty's lives remain intertwined. Newbold lives in the Canyons School District. His son teaches in the school district. Last year, Canyons recognized Newbold with its inaugural Apex Legacy Award.
"He's got a lot of investment personally and professionally in these schools," Doty said.
Tracy Cowdell, a member of the Canyons School Board who also served on the Jordan board prior to the division, said Newbold had profound concern for all employees affected by the split.
"You don't just turn off the love, compassion and concern for those people because politics has dictated that a shift had to be made," Cowdell said.
The true measure of Newbold's character was his deliberate decision to remain with the school district through the split and the transition.
"To his credit, it would have been very easy when things started getting rough with the split, to retire. He didn't feel good about that. He wanted Jordan District to get off to a good start," Cowdell said.
Not only has Newbold's tenure as superintendent far exceeded the national average for the job, he has been recognized many times in his career for his service to education. In 2000, he was selected Utah's Superintendent of the Year. That same year, he was a finalist for the nation's top superintendent.
While he has appreciated such acknowledgments, Newbold is more comfortable talking about the achievements of district as a whole. It boasts one of the highest high school graduation rates in the nation. It has been recognized for its frugality.
For many years, volunteer hours in the district have topped the state.
"In the midst of all this other stuff, our kids got a great education. Hopefully, that's the only legacy I am leaving," he said.
Newbold, 57, said he has no grand plan for retirement. For the time being, he's taking some time to rest, regroup and spend time with his wife, Sherry, their five children, their spouses, and seven grandchildren.
His retirement, which started on Jan. 1, has been quite the adjustment. Newbold has had to purchase a wardrobe of casual clothing after wearing a suit and tie six days a week for nearly four decades.
After years of running headlong into each workday and spending many long hours in school board meetings, Newbold said he is enjoying simple pleasures. This past week he helped nurse his 8-year-old grandson back to health after the boy had his tonsils removed.
Newbold's biggest stress was figuring out how to make the boy a "smiley face pancake."
Looking back at his career, Newbold said he would do nothing differently. "I would do everything over again, everything, even the split," he said, explaining that his career was a tremendous growth experience.
"It is such a remarkable profession. You're literally providing the skills they will need to become the people they will. You're helping them discover who they are and how they are going to contribute to society," he said, explaining that he had encouraged his son and son-in-law to become educators.
"It's a profession that makes a difference. There's nothing more remarkable than seeing the light come on when they (students) get it, when they understand it and when they own the knowledge."
e-mail: marjorie@desnews.com