Randolph — The Orange Southwest School Board has voted to hire a Vermont native who most recently worked as a high school principal in Massachusetts to be the new superintendent of Randolph-area schools.

Layne Millington, 49, is expected to start on Aug. 1 as the Orange Southwest superintendent, replacing longtime Superintendent Brent Kay who is retiring after 16 years leading the schools in the district, which includes Randolph, Braintree and Brookfield.

Millington, a graduate of Colchester High School who earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Castleton State College, has been an educator since 1993 and most recently served as a high school principal in Swampscott and Marblehead, Mass.

He has been hired under a two-year contract paying him $128,000 a year, according to Orange Southwest School Board Vice Chairwoman Brooke Dingledine.

Dingledine said School Board members liked his experience turning schools around in the two North Shore towns in Massachusetts, and that he “was very well-liked and respected there.”

“We decided he had fresh eyes. He would be able to come in and really address the issues of climate that some of our community members are concerned about,” she said. “He’s well-rounded and seems like he has a nice leadership style to really inspire people.”

At the same time, according to Dingledine, the Orange Southwest schools will benefit from a three-member team of elementary school principals, including Erica McLaughlin, the primary principal in Randolph, and Pat Miller and David Roller. Roller, a longtime elementary school teacher in the district, recently has been promoted to principal.

McLaughlin had been the other finalist in the superintendent search process.

“We’re really excited about Erica bringing Mr. Roller aboard and supporting the work of our new superintendent,” Dingledine said. “We just feel it’s an all-win situation.”

Millington started his education career as a high school science teacher in Springfield, Vt., and moved to Massachusetts in 1996 to get married and be near his wife’s family, he said by email on Tuesday evening.

Millington said he declined a renewal of his contract in Marblehead in 2016 so he and his family could help care for some terminally ill parents.

He also has been working on a doctorate in educational leadership at the University of Massachusetts with a focus in STEM education.

John P. Gregg can be reached at jgregg@vnews.com or 603-727-3217.

]]>