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Jay Belcastro tendered his resignation from his position as the superintendent of Lake Superior School District #381 in May and will finish up in June.
In a conversation with the Lake County Press, Belcastro shared his 32-year public education career trajectory, and some of the unexpected turns along the way.
“My plan was to get through the building projects, as it turned out my wife retired last year and with the ability to sell two properties, it makes the most sense now to make this transition,” said Belcastro.
Moving to Florida to property they own there during the winter, the Belcastros will spend the summer months at their property near the Canadian border.
“This came quickly because of the hot real estate market, it happened earlier than we expected,” Belcastro stated.
At age 54 Belcastro says he does not envision himself as entering retirement but has not committed to other work plans at the moment and is leaving that door open.
“I can’t see myself not doing something,” said Belcastro.
The timing for his proposal, Belcastro realizes, was not ideal. In the midst of a big building project, teacher contract negotiations underway, and on the heels of the board cutting almost $500,000 from next school years’ budget.
The construction at William Kelley and Minnehaha still has about 40 percent left to complete, with much of that happening over the coming summer. The music wing at William Kelley is expected to be completed after school starts this coming fall, with the bus garage renovation unfolding in the last phase.
“What I proposed to the board is that I continue in a role that would be leading the district through the building project, legislation that could support the district, and transitioning to a new superintendent,” stated Belcastro.
Belcastro had proposed the board extend his retirement health benefit for two years, without being paid an hourly rate. It was an already existing benefit that Belcastro says would not have been a financial burden to the district, but rather a benefit that was dependent on the year of hire. Belcastro says he hopes it did not appear he was trying to make a financial gain, and really had hoped to help the district face challenges in its near future.
While his proposal was not accepted, Belcastro says that he wishes the best for the school board and district.
“I love this district, when I left Proctor in 2023, this is the district I wanted to come to, I love it here,” stated Belcastro.
The recently completed strategic plan is something that Belcastro has great positive feelings for, commenting that he felt the process to create it was inclusive of students and community members.
“What a great way to hear directly from your customers,” said Belcastro, adding that creative solutions like hybrid high school might help address decreasing numbers of students residing in LSSD choosing to attend that school.
Teachers vote to accept contract Working without a contract for months, teachers in the union for the Lake Superior School District voted last week to accept recently negotiated changes to their contract. Final approval and details are pending until the school board meets to vote.
