Auburn city manager comes home to SAD 1
Clint Deschene
PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Clint Deschene is looking forward to returning to the Star City to begin a new chapter in his life.
Currently the Auburn city manager, Deschene has been hired as SAD 1’s new business manager. He will replace Charles Anderson who resigned effective Sept. 30, but has continued on a contractual basis.
“I heard about the opening through friends and family … they were telling me about the position saying, ‘Why don’t you look into it?’ and it went from there,” said Deschene, 41. “I hadn’t been seeking other jobs or positions. I was very happy with what I was doing here in Auburn, but it seemed like with the amount of time this job takes with meetings and being out evenings that maybe getting into something that was a little more family-focused for me was a good idea.
“My parents [Arnold and Phyllis Deschene] are having to buy a new home because of their house being purchased for the new bypass. We thought it through and within the family, I was the only one really willing to move and move them in with me. My wife and I talked about that and thought it made sense to do something with them because they are in their 80s,” he said. “Plus with our kids, we liked the idea of bringing them up in Aroostook County like we did because there are good schools and it’s a good community. This was just something that felt right, and sometimes you’ve got to go with your gut. I wasn’t actively looking; it just kind of fell into my lap. When we weighed out the pros and cons, it seemed to make more sense to move back.”
Deschene’s wife, Jennifer [Bennett] grew up in Caribou. They have two children: Reagen, 8, who is in third grade, and Duke, 4, who’s in pre-K.
“I’m looking forward to getting my kids close to both sets of grandparents,” said Deschene. “Outside of the family component and my excitement about the job, I’m very excited about the career opportunity to be the business administrator and take the skills I’ve learned over 15 years in municipal government to the local school system.
“But I guess the biggest thing I’m looking forward to is moving home. I’ve said for years that we built a home wherever we went, but no one was ever going to change the fact that my wife and I were both from Aroostook County and we were never going to forget that. That’s an important part of our lives,” he said. “I think some people maybe move away and never go back or rarely think about going back, whereas we were seriously interested in coming back. I haven’t lived in Presque Isle for about 22-23 years. I’ve been home for a couple weeks at a time, but it was the summer of 1992 when I last lived there, so I’m excited to get home.”
Upon graduating from Presque Isle High School in 1991, Deschene attended the University of Maine at Orono where he earned a bachelor of arts degree in English with a concentration in public speaking in 1995. He later attended Suffolk University Law School in Boston where he earned a juris doctorate in 1998.
“After I got my law degree I moved back to Orono, took the bar, and went to work for the town of Bradford as their town manager in 1999. I was there for three years,” said Deschene, who also did a long-term teaching stint at Penobscot Valley High School. “From Bradford I went to Hermon where I was the town manager for almost 10 years, and I’ve been the city manager of Auburn since June 2012.”
While Deschene expects there to be some similarities between municipal government and school administration, he said he’s interested in learning new aspects of the job, as well.
“I’ve always enjoyed doing budgets and working with the business operations,” he said, “but as city manager, I have to oversee a lot of different things … the police department, fire department, economic development, etc., so you’re a very well-versed generalist or a jack-of-all-trades. With this new job, I think it will be very fun to focus in and work with the school administrative team.
“I’m looking forward to learning more about school operations … I’ve always had great relations with school departments in the communities I’ve worked in, but this is the hands-on side. I’m hopeful that as time goes on that maybe I can take some courses and maybe even see about getting a conditional certificate as a superintendent so that as life goes on and my career evolves I’ll have a lot of options ahead for me,” said Deschene. “I think I’ll bring some unique perspective to schools. As a manager I’ve always seen the schools as a major asset and part of the economic/community development, and I’ll be able to share that with the current superintendent, as well as the future superintendent.”
SAD 1 Superintendent Gehrig Johnson is eager to have Deschene join the team.
“Our retiring business manager, Charles Anderson, is widely regarded as one of the best and most experienced in Maine. We are fortunate to hire another highly regarded public official into this position,” he said. “Clinton Deschene possesses a very unique skill set.
“He possesses a law degree, is currently a city manager in Auburn, one of Maine’s largest cities, and he has experience in dealing with school budgets. He is also a County native with very strong Presque Isle ties,” said Johnson. “I feel very confident he will transition into the position smoothly and look forward to working with him.”
When he’s not busy at work or spending time with his children, Deschene, a self-described “movie buff,” also enjoys golfing, traveling and camping.
His last day as Auburn city manager is Nov. 15. He begins his new duties in the district Dec. 1, 2014.
