“I think it’s probably going to be more doable with the smaller school districts,” he said. “But I think that we can consolidate on a lot of different areas. We could possibly consolidate AP courses, or within certain departments with our district working with other districts. But I think it’s going to be most difficult for Kingston because of our size, because we’re so much larger than other districts.”
Though the original plan was to have the new superintendent in place to allow for some overlap, Gretzinger’s successor, Dr. Paul Padalino, had a provision in his contract requiring him to stick around with the Watervliet City School District until Jan. 7. With Gretzinger’s final day in Kingston one day earlier, that overlap won’t happen. In fact, the pair has been so busy with the respective jobs, Gretzinger said, they haven’t even had much of a chance to keep in touch.
“I’ve only had an opportunity to speak with him twice since he’s been hired,” Gretzinger said.
Considering his final week as the superintendent, Gretzinger admitted he was getting a bit choked up.
“It’s very, very…You’re going to hear some emotion in my voice now,” he said. “It’s very sweet.”
After a brief pause, he continued.
“It’s a difficult week,” he said. “After 42 years in education and after working in a district that I’ve truly loved for the past 10 years, it’s kind of difficult to leave. I’m looking forward to retirement, but I’m also going to miss working in education full time as I am right now, and I’m going to miss an awful lot of people here in the Kingston City School District who have just showed me so much love and support and made my job enjoyable while I was here.”
