Libby School Board approves superintendent's retirement
When the time came to approve the requested retirement of Superintendent Craig Barringer, Libby District School Board Chair Ellen Johnston had to solicit action from her colleagues.
“I need a motion to accept those retirements,” Johnston said following a long silence at the board’s Feb. 10 meeting. “I know we don’t want to.”
After a pause, board member Alida Leigh made the motion to accept the retirement of Barringer and administrative secretary Ramona Crismore. George Woodruff offered a second “with arm-twisting,” he said.
Days later, Johnston said the impending loss of Barringer still gives her pause. The board was well-aware Barringer, who has accepted a superintendent position in Wyoming, planned to depart Libby.
That did not make his decision any easier, she said.
“He loves Libby, but he also has been here six years. I think he’s ready for a new challenge,” Johnston said. “We’re disappointed he’s leaving, of course. We would love to have him stay on and continue the great work that we’ve already done together.”
Barringer said he looked forward to overseeing a school district about twice the size of Libby in Green River, Wyo. It will be his first time living and working outside of Montana, he said.
“It has a lot of the same qualities as Montana has,” he said. “I’ve lived on both sides of the mountains in Montana — it’s a great place to be from — and Wyoming is very similar, the culture is very similar to Montana.”
Barringer, who will stay on in Libby as superintendent until June 30, said he began thinking about his next move several years ago. After a career spanning 34 years, he decided to make the leap.
“My reasoning is that it’s a good opportunity,” Barringer said. “But Libby has been an amazing place to work. I have so much appreciated the people I have got to work with in the schools and community.”
The Libby School District is advertising the position on its website. Applications will be accepted until Feb. 28. Barringer and Johnston expect the district will have a qualified candidate lined up before his departure.
“We’re quite confident we’ll get some good applicants,” Barringer said. “Libby is a destination place, being a Class A school and having what we have in the surrounding area and the type of reputation our schools have.”
Johnston expects the board will winnow down the applications before inviting two or three applicants to town for interviews.
The incoming superintendent will have a hard act to follow. Johnston, who has served on the board for the entirety of Barringer’s tenure, credited him with improving the district’s mathematics curriculum, creating a charter vocational program and spearheading a preschool initiative.
For the latter, the district depended on state funds to launch the preschool program. When those dollars ran out, Barringer found a way to keep it running, Johnston said.
“We have just done so many things under his guidance,” Johnston said.
While the district searches for a new schools chief, officials also are looking for a new home for a black Labrador retriever that goes by the name Alt. Acquired by the students at the alternative school several years ago, Alt splits his time between the school and Barringer, who agreed to care for the dog, Johnston said.
“He was purchased by the students a few years ago and — fortunately or unfortunately — Craig has been the foster parent to this dog,” Johnston said. “I don’t know if the new superintendent will be open to being a foster parent.”