Outgoing interim superintendent to Bibb school board: ‘Trust is the critical factor’

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Dr. Steve Smith’s time as interim superintendent ends Wednesday, a year and a half after he took over the Bibb County School District as interim superintendent.

In Spring 2013, 41NBC visited Smith’s Valdosta home after we learned he would be the district’s next interim superintendent.

Wearing a short-sleeved polo shirt in his home office, Smith was about to step out of a retirement he’d just stepped into.

“Giving up six months to a year of my life to help a cause like this is a small portion to pay for so much that’s been given to me by that community,” he told 41NBC’s Tucker Sargent.

A year and a half later, the former Central High School teacher, coach and principal sat down with Sargent again. This time, the meeting was in Smith’s downtown office, mostly empty and almost ready for its new tenant.

“When I came (back to Macon), I realized it was helping me as much as it was helping the community,” Smith says.

Smith’s original contract expired in July, but he wasn’t ready to leave.

“I wasn’t sure I had someone to hand the baton off to at that particular time,” he says. “I’ve got somebody to hand the baton off to now. I feel much more comfortable in leaving.”

Smith passes the baton to Dr. Kelley Castlin-Gacutan, a deputy superintendent who’s been with the district since 2012. On January 1, she’ll become the third interim superintendent since Romain Dallemand’s contract was bought out.

“Kelley, I didn’t know her before I came,” Smith says. “But I got to know her very closely from having worked with her. She’s one of the brightest young educators I’ve worked with. She’s very resourceful, very organized, and I think she has outstanding leadership skills.”

Smith continues. “And she’s a great listener.”

School board members have set July 1 as the target date for hiring a permanent superintendent, which will be more than two years since Dallemand left. Smith has some advice for the board, which hasn’t made much progress in the way of teamwork since he took over.

“I would say to the board, ‘Trust is the critical factor here,'” he says. “‘You’ve got to trust each other, you’ve got to trust the school system, you’ve got to trust the community to help make the right decisions to help move us forward.”

‘It’s high time she gets to choose where we retire’

Fittingly, a painting on the wall above Smith’s desk reads, ‘The beach is calling, and I must go.’

“I’m looking forward to spending some quality time with my wife,” he says. “She’s followed me to Macon to Hawkinsville to Valdosta and back to Macon. It’s high time she gets to choose where we retire. She’s chosen St. Simons Island.”

After more than four decades in education, it’s time for a change of pace. Looking back on his latest stop in Macon, Smith has just one regret.

“I guess the only regret I’ve got is that the board did not make more progress in terms of molding together as a team,” he says.

Smith feels personal agendas have gotten in the way and that the board should vote together to set a good example for the community.

“Everybody needs to be allowed the opportunity to express their view,” he explains. “But if their view is not shared by the majority of the board then the view of the minority needs to yield to the view of the majority and they need to come out as a unified force.

He does see some areas of improvement.

“We have accomplished a lot in the area of facilities and the area of technology,” he says. “Also, I think we will accomplish a lot in the area of academics. It’s just that we had to spend a considerable amount of time assessing where we were from an academic standpoint–looking at where our deficiencies are and developing a plan that targets strengthening those deficiencies so we become an even better school district in the future.”

Smith’s future is filled with fishing, golf and family. He wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I look for better days ahead for our school system, and I’ll be their biggest cheerleader as I look from a distance on the beach in a chair with my toes in the sand. I’m looking forward to those opportunities there.”