LOCKWOOD — Lockwood School District Superintendent Tobin Novasio resigned this week after 11 years of working for the district.
He confirmed with MTN News Wednesday that he has accepted a position as superintendent at Hardin School District. He will begin July 1 after finishing the 2022-23 fiscal year in Lockwood.
“This was a different challenge at this point in my career and just a chance to take the things I’ve learned and the connections I’ve been able to build over the last several years and to move to Hardin and see if I can help expand what they have down there. And do some good for kids down there,” Novasio said.
Novasio said he will make the commute daily to Hardin, so his wife and daughter will not have to move.
After over a decade at the district, Novasio said there was plenty to remember. From expanding the student and staff population to breaking ground on new facilities and remodeling old ones.
“We’ve increased our student population by about 50 percent,” Novasio said. “It’s a good last chapter for me here to end with our very first high school graduation. I’ve had those kids, you know, basically since they were first graders or second graders.”
That first graduation did cause some talk earlier in the month, when a senior wrote a letter stating that the school would not honor valedictorians at the ceremony.
Novasio said the district will be honoring several students with the highest GPAs at the ceremony, and the student with the top GPA will have their photo placed in the school permanently.
He said has nothing to do with his decision to resign.
“Having been here for 11 years, I don’t think it’s a bad thing for Lockwood either, to have a new voice and a fresh set of eyes in the superintendent seat and be able to build upon what we’ve done over the last 11 years,” he said. “I just have an amazing team here and that’s part of why I feel comfortable leaving, is I know the good things that we’re doing here aren’t going to end with me.”
