Marty Pollio is retiring from Jefferson County Public Schools after seven years leading Kentucky’s largest district, with a total of 30 years in the system.
Pollio, who is one of the longest tenured superintendents of any large urban district in the country, announced his upcoming retirement Friday in an email sent to all district staff. His last day will be July 1, 2025, when his current contract ends.
“I began crafting this letter about a month ago,” Pollio said in the email. “It has taken me this long to complete it as I get emotional every time I return to the letter. I picked this day to send it out to the JCPS family, not anticipating canceling school today. However, it is probably appropriate with all the challenges we have tackled together over the last 7+ years.”
Thoughts on Pollio’s retirement? Submit your letter to the editor here.
In a statement following the announcement, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg thanked Pollio “for his tireless service and efforts to improve educational outcomes for all students. We will continue working closely together for the remainder of his tenure on partnerships to improve public education in Louisville.”
Jefferson County Board of Education members will be in charge of deciding who will become the district’s next superintendent, once Pollio’s term ends.
The first step, JCPS spokeswoman Carolyn Callahan said, will likely be for board members to decide whether or not to hire a search firm to find candidates. If a firm is hired, they will work alongside a superintendent screening committee to vet candidates before making recommendations to the board for consideration.
Pollio became acting superintendent of JCPS in 2017 before taking the role on permanently in 2018. His initial contract was set to end in 2022, but the school board reappointed him for another term in 2021, three months after giving Pollio a largely positive evaluation.
His latest evaluation, however, was his most critical since taking the position. While board members gave Pollio high marks for academic progress, they dinged him for human resource issues following transportation system failures that forced the district to cancel several days of classes and students to lose millions of minutes of instruction time through the 2023-2024 school year.
The failures stemmed from a transportation overhaul that coincided with other massive projects, including a new student assignment plan, a new bell schedule, the opening of three new schools and the implementation of a new reading curriculum across all elementary and middle schools.
Despite the failures, board members praised Pollio for the district’s success in helping students bounce back from pandemic-related learning loss at a faster rate than other districts, as noted in a study by Stanford and Harvard University researchers.
Between 2019 and 2022, JCPS students’ achievement levels decreased by three-quarters of a grade equivalent in math and half a grade level in reading. But since 2022, students’ reading level has increased by a third of a grade level, while their math level has risen by nearly a quarter — improvements that are considered impressive even within a typical year.
Another major focus of Pollio’s tenure leading JCPS was to create a new strategic plan, coined “Future State.”
During his 2023 State of the District address, Pollio praised the amount of progress that’s been made on that plan, especially as the district faced unprecedented challenges.
“Public education is under attack like it never has been before,” he said, adding teachers “are now asked to do more than they ever have before.”
That progress has included expanding school choice for families, particularly those in west Louisville; launching numerous large capital improvement projects; providing a Chromebook equipped with WiFi to each student; and increasing financial support for schools serving high-needs populations.
In addition to those achievements, Pollio’s retirement announcement noted district leadership, under his guidance, has:
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Successfully navigated through numerous audits
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Created JCPS’ police department
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Passed a historical tax increase to grow the district’s funding
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Developed the district’s summer learning program
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And provided a 14% salary increase for all district staff over the past four years
“Together, we have traversed through two of the largest crises in the history of public education,” Pollio wrote in his announcement. “As a result of the pandemic and severe staffing shortages, our jobs have become much more difficult. Through all the major challenges, I am so proud of the accomplishments we have made together for the students of this community. As a superintendent, it would have been easier to keep the status quo. Change is very hard. But I am extremely proud that we made the decision to make the most substantial changes in the history of JCPS despite many challenges. I truly believe that these changes will result in decades of improved outcomes for our students.”
Read Marty Pollio’s retirement letter to staff
JCPS Family,
In the summer of 2017, I began this incredible journey with you as I was named the acting superintendent of Jefferson County Public Schools. I started in JCPS as a social studies teacher in 1997 at Shawnee High School. At no time throughout my journey in four different high schools and a multitude of positions did I think I would become the superintendent. Even in the spring of 2017, I was surprised that I was interviewing for the position. Over seven years later, it has been the honor of my lifetime to represent this wonderful district and all the incredible students, staff, and families as the superintendent.
In all candor, and as I’m sure you are aware, the journey has not been an easy one. Together, we have traversed through two of the largest crises in the history of public education. As a result of the pandemic and severe staffing shortages, our jobs have become much more difficult. Through all the major challenges, I am so proud of the accomplishments we have made together for the students of this community. As a superintendent, it would have been easier to keep the status quo. Change is very hard. But I am extremely proud that we made the decision to make the most substantial changes in the history of JCPS despite many challenges. I truly believe that these changes will result in decades of improved outcomes for our students.
Just a few of the major accomplishments we have made together include: a new student assignment plan, a new facility plan that includes the building of 24 new school buildings over the next decade, an enhanced safety and security plan that includes the creation of the JCPS Police Department with 55 police officers, the passing of the first tax increase above 4% in the history of JCPS which brought in much needed funding, proliferation of nationally recognized models with the Academies of Louisville and Explore Pathways, additional levels of support for students and schools (MHPs, ICs, SAs, School Nurses, etc.), a focus on racial equity to improve student outcomes for our historically underserved population, development of the Backpack League summer learning program, an aligned literacy and numeracy plan across all JCPS schools, a technology overhaul in our schools for staff and students, new athletic facilities for all high schools, 14% increase in pay for all employees over the past four years, including stipends for those in enhance support schools, and successfully navigating through numerous audits and pushing back on attacks from Frankfort since 2017. I truly believe that these changes have led and will lead to improved outcomes for the children of this community.
But, in every leader’s journey, there comes a time to turn the page and move on to the next chapter in your life. And that time is quickly approaching for me. My tenure as superintendent of JCPS has lasted longer than 96% of the superintendents in the Council of the Great City Schools, which encompasses the 80 largest school districts in the United States. The average tenure for large district superintendents is now less than 18 months. I am proud that I have served the last eight years in this position given the immense challenges that public school districts face. If it weren’t for the amazing students of this district, I would not have had the strength and motivation to persevere. I have truly given them my all. I also could not have done this without the support of all the incredible educators and employees in this district and the positive words and encouragement from so many of you. Although not perfect, we have an incredible school district where all of you give so much to meet the needs of ALL children in this community. We need to stand together with pride in that fact.
I wrote all employees a letter on July 2, 2017 expressing my honor to start as superintendent of JCPS. And now I want the JCPS family to be the first to know that this will be my final year as superintendent. I will be retiring effective July 1, 2025. In the summer of 2022, I gave the board of education a three-year commitment. This is the final year of that three-year agreement. I had planned since that time for the 2024-25 school year to be my final one. However, this will not be the end of my time in education. I hope to continue positively influencing public education moving forward in Kentucky and even at the national level. I am announcing at this time to give our board of education and community the time needed to select a candidate that will continue the forward progress and momentum we have made over these past eight years. Although I am announcing my retirement for the end of this school year, I want you all to know that I will not let up in my passion for this district over the next nine months. As I have always preached, I will be sprinting through the finish line!
Once again, it has been the honor of my professional career to serve as your superintendent. I have given every ounce of myself to this role as I know so many of you do daily. Although there have been challenges over my tenure, no one can ever question my passion, fight, and love for Jefferson County Public Schools.
Thank you again for the opportunity to serve you over the last eight years.
Sincerely,
Martin Pollio, Ed.D.
Superintendent Jefferson County Public Schools
Contact reporter Krista Johnson at kjohnson3@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: JCPS Superintendent Marty Pollio announces retirement
