Former Deering High School Principal Gregg Palmer has been hired as superintendent of the Brewer School Department and assumed the post this week.

Palmer was principal of the Portland high school for two years before his resignation was announced last week.

Gregg Palmer

His departure came amid a Portland Public Schools inquiry into a sudden drop in freshmen enrollment at Deering that the Portland superintendent attributed at least in part to a handful of fights and other incidents at the school last year.

“It is an honor to be named as the next superintendent of Brewer Schools,” Palmer said in a news release Tuesday from the Brewer School Department. “Brewer has a long tradition of excellence and caring about all its students. It’s a community that supports the schools and innovative programming.”

Palmer, who is originally from Carmel, worked as a special education teacher at Brewer High School from 1994 to 2002 before leaving to serve as principal at Searsport District Middle School & High School.

During his time at Brewer, he was named the Southern Penobscot Regional Program for Children with Exceptionalities Special Educator of the Year and in 2002 was also given the Distinguished Teacher Award for Brewer Schools.