By STEPHEN BEALE
Goffstown News Correspondent
 

GOFFSTOWN - Kathi Titus, an assistant superintendent for Goffstown, Dunbarton and New Boston, is retiring at the end of this school year.
Her departure will coincide with that of Dr. Darrell Lockwood, the 10-year superintendent who is taking the top school administrative position in Tyngsborough, Mass., after this year.

The other assistant superintendent, Stacy Buckley, will take over as interim superintendent this summer.

As one of two assistant superintendents, Titus has oversight over curriculum and instruction for regular education in the school districts for the three towns — grouped together under School Administrative Unit 19.

The second assistant position deals with special education.

Keith Allard, chairman of the Goffstown School Board, said the SAU board will hire a one-year assistant superintendent for regular education and a permanent assistant superintendent for special education. If Buckley does not move from interim to permanent superintendent, Allard said she would take over as the assistant for regular education in a year. Titus earned $92,204 during the 2007-08 school year and Buckley earned $88,265, according to the state department of education.

Titus has been in Goffstown for five years, her latest stint in a 32-year career. Titus, who is 54, said she wanted to retire while she is still young.

“People don’t retire to play bingo these days,” she said. “We still have the energy and the time and the skills to create.”

She noted that she chose this year specifically due to the uncertainties surrounding the reform of the New Hampshire retirement system.

Titus got her start in 1976 as a high school teacher in Ludlow, Mass. About 10 years later, she shifted to more of an administrative role. Her latest was as a supervising principal at a grammar school in Methuen, Mass., before coming to Goffstown.

“I’ve loved every role I have ever had,” Titus said. “Each time I’ve ended up enjoying the next one a little bit more than the other one.”

She said she took the Goffstown position after remembering how much she respected Lockwood while working with him in the Exeter school system.

“He’s a fantastic superintendent,” Titus said. “It’s been wonderful working for him.”

For her first two years in Goffstown, Titus was the assistant superintendent for special education. She then moved over to regular education in 2005. One of the things she has enjoyed doing, she said, is sharing resources and combining various tasks — such as integrating teacher training with training of their supervisors.

Allard praised Titus for her work, saying she played an integral role in the advancement and development of the curriculum in the schools and credited her with guiding the expansion of the honors program at the high school.

“The fruits of Kathi’s creative thinking and devotion to our schools can be seen in the work of all our fine educators,” Allard said. “In just five years Kathi has earned the respect of the staff and has left a favorable imprint on our school district.”

As she prepares to leave, Titus said she will miss what she describes as a special school community.

“It’s a very special place,” Titus said. “All the school districts — the kids and the communities — really do support their schools.”

Titus said education has been the love of her life, adding that it is likely she will somehow be involved in schools even during her retirement. She is trying to think more about that — than the fact that she is leaving.

“I don’t think about the goodbye part,” Titus said. “I’m just focused on the next steps.”

Reproduced by the Goffstown Residents Association.