Maki prepares for retirement after 46 years

As his 46-year career in education comes to an end, Kirby Maki is finishing off a long to-do list for Libby School District’s incoming superintendent Craig Barringer.

“This is for the new guy,” Maki joked last week, pen to paper, while surrounded by boxes of files and paperwork he has accumulated. 

Maki’s office is full of artefacts from around the county that he has lived in since 1998. On the wall in front of his desk is a mural of Leigh Lake by artist Todd Berget. To the left of his desk is a 1912 postcard of the old Central School.  Like the 1959 fiberglass boat with its original engine that Maki plans to spend a time in once he retires, the collectibles in his office could also be classed as “another antique.”

Highlights on the “new guy” list include following up on heat pump installations, a bid for a new kitchen in Libby Middle High School, new doors for the school, and making sure that the water gathering outside from a recent water tank blow-out is contained before it becomes a liability, Maki said.

Apart from the detailed instructions, cleaning out and organising files from 16 years as Libby Superintendent means there is time for reflection.

Looking back over what he is most proud of – the facilitation of Central School, a partnership with Flathead Valley Community College/Lincoln County College for a dual credit-running start program, the restoration of the Little Theatre, the establishment of a nursery at Central School, the preservation of unused school buildings – Maki admitted that there was sometimes resistance when he made decisions on the direction of the school district, especially as resources have dwindled with the decline of enrollment.

Supervising the closure of three elementary schools tested his mettle. But Maki points out that despite losing about 800 students between 1998 and 2011 – and with that, funding  – he was able to balance the budget every year.

Would he have done anything differently?

“Maybe,” he said, when asked. “But I don’t think so at this point.

“Maybe I could have communicated differently or in a better manner. Critics might say I should have gotten more parents involved. I would say that we’ve tried.

“I’ve got my share of critics out there. Over certain issues we don’t agree. But they still support other elements of the school. I don’t think you have to agree with everything that goes on, but the key is ‘what ideas do you have to make it better?’ For Libby you sometimes get that ‘woe is me’ feeling...what the community has to do is look to the future.”

Some of the challenges he has faced has been changing the way students are educated and finding time for staff development, Maki said.

“It’s getting teachers to change how they teach; to adopt a new model. Some of this means that teachers give up the favourite things they used to do which is difficult,” Maki said. “You’ve got to care about staff, but it is about the students... I think we’ve done a great job with what money we’ve had.

“Teachers here are seasoned,” Maki added. “Close to 50 percent are ready for retirement, which means they are at the higher end of the pay scale. And (enrollment) is stabilising so we can’t lose more staff and still continue the student-teacher ratio that we have (Maki said that currently that ratio is 1 to 17 for kindergarten, 1 to 22 for elementary students, and 1 to 24 for middle and high school students).”

Does he feel that he is leaving the district in a better place?

“I do,” Maki said, adding: “I feel good that I hung in there.”

With a coaching background, he didn’t rule out the possibility of returning to education in a different capacity – possibly sports. “Maybe I’ll nab another job – but I’m not ready for that right now.

“Right now I’m just going to take the dog and go fishing,” Maki said.

Libby School District board chair Ellen Johnston said that Maki had done many things for the district.

“He was instrumental in getting in the K.W. Maki Theatre (formally the Little Theatre) and he was instrumental in getting the alternative school going, as well as being involved in the Memorial Center,” Johnston said. “He brought us the new reading program – and he’s done all of this while there has been less and less money every year. I have the highest regard for Kirby.”