The grand piano wouldn’t fit in Kyle Schumacher’s new house.

Now, it’s in his office.

Just as well for Schumacher, the Telluride R-1 School District’s new superintendent. He was a music major in college and began his tenure in public education in the music department at an elementary school. He’s just replaced Mary Rubadeau, who led Telluride’s public schools for 11 years.

Schumacher, 44, grew up on a small farm in southern Illinois, where the family raised cows, chickens and pigs. From there, he went on to the University of Illinois. He got a job as a music teacher at an elementary school outside of Chicago after graduation, and then took a band director position in the north-shore suburbs, which he held for four years. After that, he landed in Lake Forest, Ill., where he started as a principal before becoming an assistant superintendent. He worked in that district for 16 years before taking the post as Telluride’s top administrator this spring.

Schumacher moved to town with his wife, Kate, and his son, Christian, who will be a seventh grader this year.

“They are excited about it. Christian has loved having the freedom to ride his bike, go hiking,” he said. “Again, you can’t beat the scenery. This truly is the most beautiful place.”

Schumacher’s been taken with the cultural options in a town as small as Telluride, and hopes to tap the wide-ranging talent that comes to town.

“One of my goals is really to help connect the school, the Palm [Theatre], with the community to capitalize on those resources,” he said. “It’s something that much larger communities can’t do, and don’t have the access to do.”

Thus far, there haven’t been any surprises — “Which is good. The district’s really in good shape, which I knew coming in. But it’s good to have that confirmed,” Schumacher said. He credited the administration and school board.

“They’ve done a phenomenal job. The challenge is that they’ve maintained programming while cutting budgets. But we haven’t been able to grow. We haven’t been able to expand our offerings.”

But expansion is difficult for schools right now. In the past three years, Telluride’s public schools have lost $1 million due to funding cuts. This year, administrators must find about $400,000 to cut.

What he’s seen so far, he likes. On both sides of the classroom.

“The teachers and the administration that’s here is definitely a strength for this district. There are people who care about kids. Who care about wanting to do the best that they can,” he said. “The kids in this town are phenomenal. They’re incredibly articulate. They’re bright. They’re involved in a lot of different things.”

There is no set order of business beyond defining the budget.

“Right now I’m sort of in my investigation stage,” Schumacher said.

He’s looking at programs and relationships, reviewing test scores, both current and historic, what’s worked in Telluride and what hasn’t.

“These first hundred days are really about seeing where we’re at, and then from that, deciding what some of those directions are,” Schumacher said. He says test scores are only a snapshot that must be viewed with other snapshots of student achievement, and that, ultimately, Telluride schools should be measured against the best public — and private — schools in the country.

“I care about the future. And I think that public education is the foundation for preparing our young people for the future. The better we can do … The better off we all are. It helps our society. It helps our country and the world. And that’s really the motivating part,” Schumacher said.