Greg Bailey announced last week that he will be retiring in June, but the Moscow School District superintendent promised he is not counting down the days.
“I told my staff I will still give 100% or 110% to this school district throughout this year,” he said Wednesday.
This school year will be Bailey’s 10th with Moscow School District and his 37th in education. He has spent 31 of those years as an administrator in Idaho.
Bailey said he wanted to make his announcement early to give the district plenty of time to search for his replacement and “kind of beat the other districts in the process.”
The school board is in charge of the hiring process, he said.
Before he was hired by the district a decade ago, Bailey went through an intense interview process where he spent all day taking questions from groups of community members, teachers, staff members and, finally, the school board. In total, the day lasted from 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
Bailey said he liked that process because it allowed him to get feedback from everybody he talked to, and vice versa. Bailey believes the new candidates will likely go through a similar process.
Bailey said he plans to keep “some very good notes” to give to the next superintendent to make sure they are prepared for the job.
“I want the next superintendent to be able to perform really well and keep the district moving forward,” he said.
Until then, Bailey is aiming to achieve several goals during his final year.
He and the board are working on completing a five-year strategic plan for the district. This includes goals to improve academically throughout the district, upgrade various facilities and hire necessary personnel.
“The strategic plan really is, where does our community want to see our schools in five years and maybe further?” he said.
Bailey said the district wants to correct some of the academic regression that occurred among students because of challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic. The district is also encountering hiring challenges, particularly when it comes to bus drivers. The district had to suspend two bus routes this year because of a driver shortage.
Bailey is working with Idaho legislators to get financial support for the district’s facilities. He is awaiting news on the $330 million in sales tax receipts that will be shifted into the public education income fund thanks to an omnibus bill approved by the Legislature on Friday.
“I think the biggest question is how they will distribute those funds,” he said. “It’s great that they’re putting that toward K-12, but we want to make sure that they don’t put so many restraints on it that it’s actually not helpful for us.”
One of the district’s goals is to use state money to eventually build two new school buildings to replace Russell Elementary School and Moscow High School.
Bailey said he plans to stay on the Palouse after he retires — at least initially.
Charlie Gerke, MSD operations director, is also retiring, with his final day set for Sept. 20. He has been with the district for 27 years. He will be replaced by Aaron “Butch” Fealy, who currently is the associate director of competitive and recreational sports at the University of Idaho.
Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.
