Former Monaca superintendent Mike Thomas announced Thursday night that he is retiring, leaving his role as superintendent of merger affairs for the Central Valley School District.
"The last several years of my professional life were largely taken up by this merger," Dr. Thomas told the Central Valley school board. "It has been a richly rewarding experience, not for what was done but for the promise that it holds."
As Monaca superintendent, Dr. Thomas was a driving force behind merger talks with neighboring Center Area School District and played a major role in keeping the idea alive when a faction on the Center school board nearly killed it in 2008.
The districts merged in July to form Central Valley, and Dr. Thomas took the role of overseeing the consolidation efforts, with Center's Dan Matsook serving as Central Valley superintendent. Dr. Thomas said at the time that it was his intent to retire once the merger efforts were well underway.
Earlier in the evening, one of Dr. Thomas' final tasks was on display. The administration presented the schedules and classes for the first year of consolidated high school and middle school classes. There are several new advanced classes and a wide array of electives.
"This can really be something special," Dr. Thomas said.
First Published: February 19, 2010, 11:00 a.m.