After seven years leading Kentucky’s largest district, with a total of 30 years in the system, Marty Pollio is retiring from Jefferson County Public Schools.
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 in 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.”
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 board reappointed him for another term in 2021, three months after giving Pollio a largely positive evaluation.
In his latest evaluation, however, board members gave Pollio high marks for academic progress, but they dinged him for human resource issues following a disastrous start to the 2023-2024 school year, when several days of school were canceled because of a breakdown in bus transportation. The evaluation was the most critical Pollio has received as superintendent, one he said he largely disagreed with even before it was made public.
This story will be updated.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: JCPS Superintendent Marty Pollio announces retirement
