After a turbulent seven-years in Jefferson County Public Schools' top post, JCPS Superintendent Marty Pollio announced Friday he is stepping down.
In an emotional email to staff obtained by KyCIR, Pollio said he will retire at the end of this school year, in July 2025.
“In every leader’s journey, there comes a time to turn the page and move on to the next chapter in your life. And that time is quickly approaching for me,” he wrote.
Pollio will serve out the remainder of his contract, which extends through June 2025. He earns $350,244 a year. He’ll collect about that much per year after he retires, under his pension.
“It has been the honor of my lifetime to represent this wonderful district and all the incredible students, staff, and families as the superintendent.”
His retirement announcement comes a day after the U.S. Department of Education announced a resolution agreement with JCPS, closing a 10-year-investigation into the way the district disciplines Black students.
Pollio has worked for JCPS since 1997, first as a teacher and later school administrator. He was appointed to JCPS’ top position in 2018, after serving for several months as interim superintendent. He succeeded former JCPS Superintendent Donna Hargens, who was forced out by the school board in 2017 amid state intervention.
During his tenure as superintendent, Pollio has known little other than stormy seas. He took the helm at a time when the district was defending itself against a proposed state takeover and steered the school system through a two-year settlement agreement with the Kentucky Department of Education.
“Although there have been challenges over my tenure, no one can ever question my passion, fight, and love for Jefferson County Public Schools,” he wrote.
Two years into his role, the COVID-19 pandemic created one of the worst disruptions to K-12 education in living memory and forced Pollio to chart the district’s path through not only a deadly public health crisis, but also heated political tensions around mask mandates and remote learning.
Last year’s disastrous first-day of school transportation meltdown and ongoing busing issues remain top of mind for many JCPS families. The Louisville NAACP and other community groups have even called on Pollio to step down over his handling of the transportation crisis and his role in pushing through cuts to magnet transportation.
While Pollio’s tenure can be characterized as rocky, it’s also one of significant change. At Pollio’s direction the district invested hundreds of millions of dollars into crumbling infrastructure, approved the first significant tax increase in years and overhauled the last vestiges of a decades-old student assignment plan, providing more opportunities for students to attend school in west Louisville.
That new student assignment plan has its skeptics who worry about resegregation under the plan and whether the district will adequately support the majority-Black, low-income schools it created.
“Change is very hard,” Pollio said in his email. “But I am extremely proud that we made the decision to make the most substantial changes in the history of JCPS despite many challenges. I truly believe that these changes will result in decades of improved outcomes for our students.”
Pollio said he made the announcement today in order to give the Jefferson County Board of Education time to find a replacement.
“Although I am announcing my retirement for the end of this school year, I want you all to know that I will not let up in my passion for this district over the next nine months. As I have always preached, I will be sprinting through the finish line!” he said.
Pollio did not say what he will do next, except to share that he hopes to “continue positively influencing public education moving forward in Kentucky and even at the national level.”
