FARMINGTON—John Zurbuchen has become a staple in the Davis School District but it’s time to turn the page and start a new chapter. Zurbuchen is retiring at the end of the month after almost 30 years of service as a teacher, assistant principal, principal and in his current position as Assistant Superintendent.

“It’s a critical time in the district,” said Superintendent Dr. Dan Linford. “John is who we turned to and relied on for next steps on what we should do. He’s the guy who truly reminds us why we do what we do.”

Zurbuchen is originally from Wisconsin and started his teaching career there in 1981. In 1984 he moved out west to Victor, Montana. “There were 400 kids in the whole district,” he said. “There were 20-25 kids in the graduating class.”

His wife Ann was accepted to medical school in Bozeman, Montana. “The problem was of course we wanted to stay together,” said Zurbuchen. “But there were no teaching jobs in Bozeman.”

There was an opening for a residence hall director, he said. “I had a staff of 12 that I supervised. In order to get the position I had to be in a graduate program. The options were counseling and I wasn’t a counselor or education leadership.”

They paid for room and board and tuition, Zurbuchen said. “There was no salary but the housing is what we needed. I started the master’s program and finished in a year. I left the university with a master’s degree but never wanted to be in administration.”

The Zurbuchens moved to Seattle for a time and then his wife applied for residency and was accepted at McKay-Dee in Ogden in family practice. “We’d skied here so we were familiar with Utah.”

Zurbuchen got a job at North Davis Junior High and then had the opportunity to be an assistant principal at Fairfield Junior High from 1996-1997. From 1997-2000 he was at North Layton Junior High then in 2000 they decided to move back to Wisconsin.

“I was the principal of a rural school from 2000-2006,” he said. “There were 600-700 kids and a graduating class of 70. In 2006 we came back to Davis School District.”

He served in several positions in the district and currently oversees special education, federal programs, student and family resources, the Davis Education Foundation and security and risk management.

“I always say Logan Toone (Assistant Superintendent) does all the smart stuff,” Zurbuchen said. “I do the people stuff.”

When the pandemic hit, that fell squarely on his shoulders as risk management. “It was the experience of a lifetime,” he said. “As I look back, I would probably do some things differently if we’d known what we know now. We took our lead from the governor and health department. The governor had more expertise than we had at the time. We didn’t act out of emotion or from a political standpoint. We followed directives.”

People were passionate about their beliefs, said Zurbuchen. “I hope they recognize why we did what we did. Some people were disappointed with what we were doing. They were parents just advocating for their families and kids the best they could.” 

Zurbuchen said as a community they all got through it. “We all got out the other side and forged ahead. That speaks to the specialness of our community that we did.”

He also dealt with the Department of Justice’s findings that there was discrimination in the district. “We want all of our students to have a sense of belonging,” said Zurbuchen. “We said let’s do better.”

The Davis School District has never been afraid of doing better, he said. “That’s not the way it is in every place. Many places just maintain the status quo. If we’re not doing better what are we doing?”

Zurbuchen plays with his band Principal Distraction. Courtesy photo

 When he’s not in the district, Zurbuchen is in a band. “The band is called ‘Principal Distraction,’” he said. “It is made up of principals, former principals and district administrators.  We’ve been together about 10 years. I also play with Ben Hill, our new OEO Director, in an acoustic duo called ‘North of Nowhere.’ I love playing music!”  

Zurbuchen said he’s often asked, “Why Utah? Are you going to stay here?” “Utah is home. Why Utah? Why not? Living here changed our lives. The state has given us more than we’ve given it. It’s been a wonderful 30 years. We’ll die in Utah – this is home.”