Video: Principal Retiring After 23 Years at Lakeview

Kim Lockhart has set a longevity record in the Stow-Munroe Falls School District by serving as principal at for 23 years. But now, the open road is calling his name and he’s ready to respond. Literally.

With his retirement date set for June 24, Lockhart and his wife of 33 years, Sandy, have fulfilled their dream of buying an RV and are making plans to see America up and close and personal.

“It just felt like the right time to retire, to spend more time with my family and to leave the day-to-day routines to somebody else,” said Lockhart.

He briefly considered staying longer in order to break John (Jack) Salters’ longevity record as principal at . “But then I thought, nah, I’m ready to enjoy retirement,” Lockhart said.

He’ll be surprised to learn he has already bested Salters’ record. Tina Garske, administrative assistant in the district’s human resources department, said Salter was at the helm of Echo Hills from 1969 until his retirement in February 1990.

“We went through old records and calendars … to the best of our knowledge, we can’t find any people who exceeded [Lockhart’s longevity record],” said Garske.

Superintendent Dr. Russell Jones conceded it’s rare to have an administrator stay in one position for so long.

“It’s an oddity, but it says a lot about his leadership of the school and his commitment to the intermediate concept. Obviously, when you have that kind of longevity, it shows you’ve been doing a great job over the years. His wisdom and leadership will certainly be missed,” said Jones.

When Lockhart became Lakeview principal, it was a sixth-grade-only school. Fifth-grade classes were not incorporated into the building until the 1996-97 academic year. That meant Lockhart, a Stow resident, only got to be a principal to his sons, Brian, now 29, and Nathan, now 26, for one year each.

“They had completely different personalities here. Brian talked to me three times in passing in the halls, while Nathan would yell down the hall every time he saw me,” Lockhart recalled with a chuckle. “It was always fun to go home and hear the boys ripping on me for mispronouncing a person’s name on the announcements or some other mistake they thought I made.”

A native of West Unity, Ohio, Lockhart graduated from Adrian College in Michigan, then spent the first 11 year of his now 35-year career at Patrick Henry Schools in Henry County, in northwest Ohio.

Being a principal there for four years landed him a job as principal at Richfield Elementary in the Revere School District for one year before getting the Lakeview job in Stow.

In recent years, Lockhart has had the opportunity to work with the children of some of his first Lakeview students.

“It did make me feel old (at first), but it also made me feel proud that they had stayed in the district. You have a connection to that student now because you had taught their parents,” he said.

Lockhart said he will miss the daily interactions with Lakeview students, families and “outstanding staff members,” all of whom he is grateful to for the support they have given him over the years.

“Without the efforts of everyone, my career would not have been so successful, rewarding and enjoyable,” he said.

Lockhart has plenty of ideas for filling his days of retirement. “We plan to travel and do a great deal of geocaching. I will have more time to read, continue to follow my favorite sports teams … and volunteer at church and for community groups,” he said.

But he isn’t ready to say goodbye just yet.

During Lakeview’s recent band concert, director Brian Monroe had the sixth graders perform a piece called “Colliding Visions” in Lockhart’s honor.

“Mr. Lockhart has always been a supporter of the music department and had both his sons go through the band program,” said Monroe. “The composer wrote the piece for a similar occasion. It depicts looking back on one’s history while also looking forward to new challenges. I felt it was a nice tie-in as he remembers his years at Lakeview and the change he will be encountering as he retires and leaves us.”

Lockhart’s reaction?

“It definitely was a surprise. I started to choke up – I’m not ready for that kind of stuff yet,” he said.

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