When Jim Schultz retires from his position as superintendent of the Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake School District at the end of this school year, one of his first retirement activities will be touring Rome, Italy. “I was a Latin teacher for years so that idea of traveling to see Rome has always been a lifelong dream,” said Schultz, 62. “Summers are too busy around here to do that, so that would be an opportunity.” Schultz has been at the helm of the district for seven years but has racked up 40 years as a district staff member and many more as a student. He said his emphasis on working as a team was a staple of his tenure. “Our focus on the power of teams has been a real focus … we talk about how we interact with kids. My goal has been to get us all focused in that direction and moving for kids as a primary objective,” said Schultz. “I hope I’ve had a small influence on that.” Transparency in the district has also improved leaps and bounds on his watch, said Schultz.
“As I look back over the 40 years, certainly our budget process has become very transparent.
We’ve been broadcasting on the internet, recording sessions, having multiple sessions with hundreds of people turning out to voice their feelings and I think part of the vitality of BHBL is people feel they have a voice here and I think I’ve helped support that value,” said Schultz. Putting a continuous emphasis on the value of 21st Century skills has also been a recent priority district-wide. “I really value that perspective of respecting our history; who we are as a district but also looking toward 21st Century skills and the impact of GlobalFoundries on BHBL,” said Schultz. “Setting the stage so our students can be successful in life.” Tackling the growing issue of bullying will be a focal point of his last school year, he said. “One thing I’m very pleased with is spending a lot of energy this year working on anti-bullying efforts,” said Schultz. “Kate Snow from “NBC Dateline” came in and addressed the entire staff on opening day because we place such value on students having a safe environment.” Each staff member in the district will be trained on how to handle a bully situation.
“We know we can do an even better job of creating a safe environment for kids,” said Schultz. “We’re spending the year implementing new initiatives.” By keeping students first and working closely with the entire community—students, staff, residents—Schultz said he thinks an impact is evident. “I believe that our results speak for the fact that we’re looking for continuous improvement,” said Schultz. He has one piece of advice or his successor.
“We’re here for kids and keeping that foremost in their vision,” said Schultz. “Secondly, value the partners in our team, the community, staff, students.” The Board of Education will meet on Thursday, Sept. 15, in the high school library from 7:30 to 9 p.m. to discuss the process of finding a replacement, with Capital Region BOCES Superintendent Chuck Dedrick on hand to assist in the hunt. Besides visiting Italy, Schultz said he’s looking forward to family time and photography.
“I love this but there’s things in my life that I’ve postponed that I’d like to get to,” said Schultz. “I have a granddaughter I’d like to do some traveling with … and I’ve been involved with photography and would love to do more of that and get back into a classroom and be able to teach a class somewhere.” When he steps out of his office for the last time on June 30, 2012, Schultz said he’ll still very much be present. “It really is part of who I am; I don’t think I need to be physically present in the office,” said Schultz. “My wife is my high school sweetheart, my children all graduated from the district, all my important relationships in life come for BHBL I’ve just found different roles as I moved along and I expect that to continue in the future.”