Retiring but staying

Dave Smith is trading the paintings of Bev Doolittle that hang on his office walls for construction timelines and documents. And the outgoing superintendent of the West Valley School District will also trade his suit and tie for a construction hard hat. But he won’t trade anything for his unwavering support for the education of this community’s children. He’ll continue to do that for at least three more years.

Smith’s last day as superintendent was Dec. 17, after serving in that role for more than 15 years. When he returns after the holidays, Smith will take on the task of project manager for several construction projects under way in the school district.

First, he will oversee the remodel of West Valley High School, paid for with a $35 million construction bond passed by voters in May. Then he will supervise construction at the district’s middle schools and elementary schools before calling it quits.

“It’s just one small step for Dave, but one giant step for what you do for a living,” Smith said recently. “I have had a very meaningful and rewarding career, but it’s time for somebody else to take it to the next level.”

Smith has been the leader who helped build a stable financial future for the district, and brought innovative education programs to the district, such as the West Valley Outdoor Learning Center, a four-acre classroom with a nature trail and hawk and owl sanctuary, the West Valley City School, and two alternative high schools.

The programs pull students from all over the Spokane area into the small district.

During his tenure, Smith also welcomed a $400,000 award from The Gates Foundation to support the redesign of West Valley High School – one of 16 schools selected for the award statewide – as part of the Washington State Achievers Program. The program is designed to create smaller, more personalized learning communities within individual high schools.

The award also came with scholarship opportunities for low-income students. So far, 183 West Valley students have been awarded scholarships through the program.

“I was on the original board that hired Dave 16 years ago, and I’ve worked with him every day since, and I can only say that he has exceeded all of our expectations,” said board member Jim Williams. “I have been totally impressed with the fact that even as the years go by, he’s always coming up with new ideas for our children.”

Smith has been an educator for 37 years, first as a teacher and principal at a number of Montana schools, and then as superintendent of the Newport School district for five years. He came to West Valley in 1989, after his son graduated from high school.

“I was looking to take on a challenge,” Smith said. “This was the only place I put in an application.”

When he arrived, the district was in financial disarray, with a fund balance – commonly known as rainy day funds – of about $100,000.

“It was not a sound financial district, but I quickly realized it had great potential,” Smith said. “It was ready to go, with a lot of good people just ready to take off. All it needed was some direction.”

And direction he provided.

He brought Doug Matson, a financial expert and the current assistant superintendent for operations, over from Newport.

“We got right to work,” Smith said. “Doug and I have made a very good team.”

What they discovered was that the district was not using resources from the state to cushion the cost of funding special education programs in the schools.

“We found we really weren’t receiving money from the state to take care of the (special education) students. It was all coming out of the general fund, and we found the district was doing that in a number of places,” Smith said. “We turned it around 180 degrees.”

The result of years of frugal budgeting and hard work is a current district fund balance of more than $1 million.

“This is a business. We’re in the business of making money, and the more we make the more we can spend on the kids,” Smith said. “It’s very rewarding to know that we will always be able to pay our bills, and that our fund balance continues to grow.”

In addition to his financial wizardry, Smith is also known for supporting new and unique programs, like the West Valley City School.

The school operates like a charter school only without tuition. Students are assigned jobs at the school, which runs like a simulated city.

Admission is application based, and students are selected after interviews. The program is not limited to children in the West Valley School District.

“Bringing that online was a risky thing to do,” Williams said. “But it’s been enormously successful under Dave’s leadership, and some very good people that he believed in, like Larry Bush.”

Bush is the principal at City School and Spokane Valley High School, one of the alternative high schools in the district.

“Once in a lifetime you get to work with a guy like Dave,” Bush said. “He is the guy who lets you fulfill your dream, and supports your ideas. He’s just a true humanitarian.

“Honestly, there isn’t another superintendent in the state that would have allowed me to do what I did (with the city school),” Bush said.

Along with the highlights of Smith’s career, come the lows.

His worst memory of his time with the district was when 12-year-old Brennan Slaughter drowned during a Centennial Middle School outing May 31, 2001, at Park Road Pool. The district was found partially liable for his death in June 2003.

“I will never forget that.” Smith said. “You want every child that comes to school to get back home safely. That’s what we do.”

In his resignation letter, Smith asks the community for forgiveness for his many mistakes. Though there doesn’t seem to be too many, there is one that stands out in his mind as almost unforgivable.

In 2003, voters rejected a technology levy, and maintenance and operations levy for the first time in Smith’s history.

But he didn’t dwell on it. He rallied the troops.

“He came to the board with the message that ‘We will go back to our patrons, and show them what is necessary to operate the district, and support our kids,’ ” Williams said. “And we not only came back and passed the levy we also passed the bond issue. That shows tremendous leadership and communication skills.”

With the money collected from the $35 million bond the high school, which is 40 years old, will be completely renovated. Four classrooms will also be built on to each of the district’s four elementary schools, and maintenance projects will be completed at the district’s two middle schools.

State law requires that the district employ a project manager, and Smith was chosen by the school board to be at the helm.

“I can’t think of a better way to go out … it’s going to be a spectacular building, I’m very grateful to be part of it,” Smith said. “It’s the best of both worlds.”

Assistant superintendent Polly Crowley has taken over for Smith as interim superintendent until the board decides who will take his place.

“She’ll be great,” Smith said. “I’m biased because I trained her.”

Smith and his wife, Penny, have three grown children, two daughters, Becky and Amy, and a son, David Jr., who is the principal at Freeman Elementary School in southeast Spokane County. The Smiths have nine grandchildren, all of whom he proudly displays in a picture emblazoned on his coffee mug.

After the construction is complete Smith said he plans to officially retire, likely spending his winters in a warmer climate.

“This community is a very special place to me, it’s a family atmosphere you can’t find in many places,” Smith said of West Valley. “I think I will have served this community as well as I could have, and I’ll just kind of go off into the sunset.”