Valdosta school superintendent forced into retirement

Published 8:00 am Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Valdosta City Schools Superintendent Dr. Bill Cason will be forced into retirement in June of next year because of a bill out of the Georgia General Assembly.

“It’s not my choice,” said Cason.

House Bill 208 contains definitions relative to the Employees’ Retirement System of Georgia. It defines a certain term with the purpose to repeal conflicting laws.

“The Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to employment of a retired teacher as a full-time teacher or in other capacities, so as to change the date of automatic repeal,” the bill states.

The code section automatically repealed the June 30, 2016 date to June 30, 2013 forcing Cason to retire at the end of this school year.

“I’ll finish out this school term,” said Cason. “I would have stayed on for at least another year.”

The conflict lies in the fact that Cason has already retired in Georgia once from LaGrange as associate superintendent and is receiving retirement while also working as Valdosta City Schools superintendent.

Cason is also receiving retirement from a system in South Carolina where he served for ten years.

“I wasn’t quite ready to quit,” said Cason.

The bill was going to initially take effect in 2016 but with the date moved up three years early, Cason is being forced out of a job that he describes as his passion. However, this may not be the end of the road.

“I’ll always work with kids,” said Cason. “That’s my passion.”

While Cason is disappointed to leave behind the staff that he describes as tremendous and the schools and children he

 holds so near and dear, he is very proud of all the accomplishments that the system has made while he served as superintendent.

“There’s just so many things we have to be proud of,” said Cason.

Under his leadership, Valdosta City Schools has seen a steady increase in student enrollment, professional development and academic achievement while remaining to be one of the few systems in the state that has been financially sound throughout state budget cuts.

“It’s been a good ride,” said Cason.

Cason has served as superintendent since February 2008 and has spent a total of 46 years in education.

Born and raised in Homerville, Cason graduated from Clinch County High School. From there he went on to receive his Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education, Master of Arts in History, Master of Education in Administration-Supervision, and Education Specialist Degree in Administration from Valdosta State College. He received his Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Administration-Supervision from Georgia State University.

Cason is a military veteran and has worked in several school systems in Georgia and South Carolina. He began his service with Valdosta City Schools as the Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Business Affairs. Cason also is a member of several professional organizations such as the American Association of School Administrators, Georgia School Superintendents Association and the Georgia Association of Educational Leaders to name a few.

After Cason retires in June of 2013, the Valdosta Board of Education will conduct a superintendent search and screen and interview qualified candidates.

For more on this story and other local news, subscribe to The Valdosta Daily Times e-Edition, or our print edition.