AMERICAN FALLS — American Falls School District Superintendent Ron Bolinger will be stepping down on June 30 after 21 years on the job.
“I’m 68 years old and time has caught up with me,” he said. “I still have fire in the belly, but I’m ready to go on and do some other things.”
Bolinger delivered his retirement notice to American Falls trustees after 21 years as superintendent and 46 years as an educator.
“He is truly an educator — from his very soul,” said American Falls School District trustee Susan Fletcher. “Whenever there’s been any question about education, he leads the discussion.”
Fletcher said the district is already working with the Idaho School Boards Association to find a replacement.
Bollinger helped American Falls educators create curriculum catered to a heavy inflow of Hispanic students, oversaw a bond for a new high school and the implementation of a new alternative academy. He also helped school administrators start a reading clinic aimed at helping young Hispanics learn English.
This year, Bollinger and other district officials are taking a second swipe at getting a bond approved for a new intermediate school in the district.
Last May, district officials proposed a $12.5 million bond issue for a new intermediate school to help alleviate overcrowding at the district’s Hillcrest Elementary. Support for the bond fell shy of the two-thirds supermajority needed to pass. As a result, the district downsized the proposed school by 14,000 square feet, simultaneously slashing the facility’s projected price tag by almost $4 million.
“I’ll be available to do some consulting if they want me to — especially if the bond passes this time around,” Bolinger said.
