RWHS assistant principal's daughter, new job arrive in the same hour

It’s not every day that life-changing events happen.

But for Red Wing High School Assistant Principal Evan Gough, two of them happened in not only the same day, but in the same hour.

“It was an exciting day,” Gough said of Feb. 23.

He had applied for the Blue Earth Area Schools superintendent position after current Supt. Dale Brandsoy announced that he will retire at the end of this school year.

After going through final interviews with the school board and community groups Feb. 21, Gough was told a decision would be made Feb. 23, and he would receive a call that evening with the results.

But as the district’s search consultant dialed Gough to tell him he got the position, Gough’s mind was preoccupied by something else: the birth of his first child, daughter Aria Elizabeth.

“To be honest, it’s not that (the job) had slipped my mind, but it wasn’t a concern at that point,” said Gough, the current assistant principal at Red Wing High School.

Gough’s wife Amy had been due Feb. 21, and when she and Evan went to a doctor’s appointment Feb. 23, they found that she had high blood pressure.

Aria Elizabeth was delivered by emergency Caesarean section at 8:39 p.m. Then, less than an hour later and while Amy was headed into recovery, Gough received the call from BEA at 9:30.

“I saw it was the search consultant and answered it,” Gough said. “I was still concerned about my wife.”

But both Amy and Aria were healthy and doing well and were able to leave the hospital Feb. 27.

’A good fit’

Gough first learned about the BEA superintendent opening in December, when he was at his in-laws house for the holidays. Because his mother-in-law used to live in Blue Earth, she still gets that city’s newspaper, and Gough noticed the ad the school had taken out.

Immediately, Gough said the position “seemed like a good fit” for him and his family. Blue Earth is located nearly midway between his wife’s parents and his family in Salem, S.D.

The district’s size, with about 1,200 students, also seemed right. The job description fit well with Gough’s experience, too.

“They weren’t just looking for someone who had been a superintendent,” he said.

While Gough does have a superintendent license, he has never actually held that position. Still, he said that has always been a goal for him.

The Blue Earth Area School Board will officially approve Gough’s new position at its March 12 meeting. Gough will start his superintendent position July 1.

“While I am very happy for Evan and his family, his departure will be a huge loss to the Red Wing High School community and the community of Red Wing learners,” Red Wing High School Principal Beth Borgen said in an email.

Gough has been assistant principal in Red Wing for three years. Borgen said the district will begin looking to fill his position once he turns in his letter of resignation in the coming weeks.

“I feel very fortunate to have worked in Red Wing for three years. The staff and community have been great,” Gough said. “I’m going to miss a lot of students when we leave here.”

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