Blackfoot Superintendent Steps Down, Explains Reasons For Unexpected Retirement
Blackfoot School District Superintendent Scott Crane is stepping down.
Crane, who has been in the position for 26 years, said he wanted to be clear that this is a retirement, not a resignation, as earlier reported.
Crane said his primary reason is to spend more time with his family and to look for other career opportunities in education or another field.
“I can retire from Idaho,” Crane said in his only television interview after the announcement. He said he did not agree with some of the educational philosophies in the Gem State.
He said while the decision to leave Blackfoot Schools may seem sudden, he has considered it for years.
“I didn’t just decide this yesterday,” he said. “We’ve had very difficult times in Idaho.”
Many of those difficult times, said Crane, stem from an educational system that doesn’t seem to place emphasis on students.
“That’s why sometimes I don’t agree with some of the things we do in Idaho,” said Crane. “Because I don’t think it’s student centered. I think it’s political centered, or business centered.”
He handed in a letter of retirement to school board members during a closed-door session at the district at noon Tuesday.
“I have always believed that to grow professionally and personally a person must embrace renewal,” Crane said in a news release sent shortly after the session. “Although I have experienced great success and fulfillment as a Blackfoot educator, it is time to, as Mark Twain stated, ??throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, dream and discover.’ I am therefore planning on continuing to pursue educational and noneducational vocational opportunities in my desire to serve and grow. I would like to thank all of my friends, colleagues, parents and students that I have interacted with through the years and wish them well in the future. As the great philosopher Garth Brooks stated:
“‘And I will sail my vessel Till the river runs dry Like a bird upon the wind These waters are my sky I’ll never reach my destination If I never try So I will sail my vessel Till the river runs dry.'”
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