Superintendent Becky Berg is leaving Eastmont SD after more than two years

The Eastmont School Board has announced a major shakeup in the school district’s senior leadership ranks.

Effective January 1, Becky Berg will no longer serve as superintendent. She is retiring to focus on an urgent medical issue within the family.

Berg has been in this role for two and a half years (she was lucky – she had to lead the district through the worst of the post-pandemic malaise). Her leadership style is delegative, but not necessarily unyielding, according to a press release. She helped develop the district’s five-year strategic plan.

The board met Monday to discuss the next logical step: appointing a suitable interim. That someone is Spencer Taylor, an Eastmont graduate who formerly presided over Grant Elementary. Since 2013, Taylor has served as the district’s executive director of elementary education.

School Board President Meaghan Vibbert says Taylor is a great customer, which is exactly what Vibbert says the district needs during this time of uncomfortable uncertainty. He also brings a lot of administrative experience.

But he has a lot of work ahead of him. The strategic plan is mostly pro forma, but contains some interesting and insightful statistics. More than two-thirds of Eastmont students are low-income. Almost a fifth are still learning English, and ELL support in this country is not what it should be. Migrant children — another underserved population — make up about 12 percent of the district’s enrollment. These are just some of the inherited challenges that await Taylor.

Time will tell whether he stays in this role long-term. The search for a permanent successor for Berg has not yet begun, says district spokeswoman Kayla Brown.