EVANSVILLE — Evansville Mayor Stephanie Terry swept into EVSC’s school board meeting with an aide Monday, suddenly and surprisingly making a presentation she said came straight from the heart.
Terry, a graduate of Bosse High School, gave retiring EVSC Superintendent Dr. David Smith the key to the city.
Smith, who announced his looming retirement in January, has spent a total now of 56 years with the school corporation in one capacity or another. That includes 13 years as a student. Among his early jobs in EVSC, he was band director at Bosse. In a moment of levity, Terry journeyed back to those days in her prepared remarks.
“Dr. Smith was once my band teacher at Bosse High School,” the mayor said. “So, this is really a special moment for me — to give back to someone who gave so much to me.
“Thank you, Dr. Smith. Even thinking back, your heart for students and your passion for helping young people was very clear. You set the bar high — so high that I worked hard to earn that first chair in the trumpet section, but didn’t quite make it.”
When the laughter was over, Terry got serious about Smith’s legacy in the community. She was still addressing her remarks to the superintendent directly.
“Under your leadership, EVSC has made significant strides in academic achievement, innovation, and student well-being,” she said. “From the classroom to the boardroom, Dr. Smith has always focused on what matters most — giving students the opportunity to succeed.”
The key to the city “represents the doors you’ve opened for so many, the paths you’ve helped create and the countless lives you’re impacting along the way,” Terry told Smith as school board members, EVSC employees and others in the room looked on.
Smith hadn’t known the honor was coming, EVSC spokesman Jason Woebkenberg said afterward. When he stepped up to receive it, he joked about having seen an old Bosse school newspaper featuring a photo of Terry. The mayor hadn’t “changed a whole lot,” Smith said, but he had.
“This means the world to me,” Smith said. “Thank you.”
Smith, 65, will retire after 14 years in the job on July 1. His last day at work will be June 30.
The school board in May chose Dr. Darla Hoover, EVSC’s chief of schools and instructional core, to succeed Smith.
Smith had been with EVSC for 29 years when he was named to succeed Superintendent Vincent Bertram in 2011. He had been an EVSC student for 13 years before that, thus his 56 years with the school corporation. He was a teacher for 19 years, an assistant principal and a principal at Evans Middle School, an interim deputy superintendent, a band director at Reitz and Bosse high schools and an instructional music teacher at Thompkins Middle School.
Upon naming Smith superintendent, school board members pointed out that he had been in the classroom and had been not just a building administrator, but a district administrator. At the time, Smith was EVSC’s assistant superintendent of human resources and business affairs.
In his final State of Schools address to Rotary Club of Evansville in early May, before Hoover was designated his successor, Smith reflected on the years that have passed since he was named superintendent in 2011.
“This has been a tremendous blessing,” he said. “I am blessed with a tremendous team. Blessed to be in a great community. I will not miss everything, but I will miss the people.”
Smith predicted EVSC will thrive after he leaves. He wished the next leadership team well.
Then his voice started to break.
“And finally, in spite of all the challenges, I’d do it again in a heartbeat,” he said.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Suddenly and surprisingly, Evansville mayor shows up at EVSC school board meeting
Reporting by Thomas B. Langhorne, Evansville Courier & Press / Evansville Courier & Press
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