COLUSA, CA (MPG) — Colusa County Superintendent of Schools Mike West is retiring at the end of his current term and will not seek reelection, concluding nearly a decade in the elected post and almost 50 years in education.
West began teaching in 1978 and moved to Colusa County in 1986. He worked his way from classroom teacher to administrator in the Colusa Unified School District, then was elected as the Colusa County Superintendent of Schools in 2014. Before he took office in ’15, then Superintendent Kay Spurgeon hired him so he could “get his feet wet,” a step West said he “really appreciated.”
West said he started thinking about retirement several years ago and pointed to both his age and the natural timing of an election cycle. He will turn 71 in December.
“It is probably time for me to let some younger horses take the reins,” he said. “It is nice to quit on your own terms and get ready for the next steps in life.”
Board members said West brought steady leadership to the county office.
CCOE Board Chair Cristy Edwards thanked him for guiding the office through “a lot of turmoil,” saying he set a high standard. “You taught me so much, and you gave me a desire to be a better person,” Edwards said. “You’ve set the bar and you’ve set the standard. You are going to be deeply missed.”
CCOE Board member Serena Morrow said she valued both his leadership and his support for staff.
When West arrived at the county office, local leaders worried that too many third graders could not read at grade level. Research that shows children who do not read by third grade often fall behind for life helped drive his early focus. Out of that concern, his office built a countywide literacy push he called “Literacy for All.”
West said his team secured an Innovative Approaches to Literacy grant using the funds to provide free books to students, and to expand the Footsteps2Brilliance early literacy app.
West also pointed to the revitalization of the Education Village as a major change. When he arrived, the site mainly housed offices. Under his tenure, the county shifted the campus back toward its original purpose. Special education and the Community School now anchor the site.
The county also expanded adult education, including classes for English language learners, citizenship courses and skill-based offerings such as bookkeeping and technology. An inmate education program now helps people in the jail work toward graduation as well.
The county’s fire training programs grew in similar fashion. What began as a Wildland Fire Academy evolved into a full firefighter academy under the adult education umbrella. West said the program now draws applicants from across California and even from other states. This year, 72 people applied for about 25 slots, so staff ran a full academy and a shorter wildland class at the same time.
At the same time, West said special education costs climbed as student needs grew more complex. Overall numbers dropped, but the severity of student needs increased, and the county sometimes must place students in specialized non-public schools as far away as Sacramento. West said those students deserve that level of support; the challenge comes in finding enough trained staff and funding.
Through those changes, West said he tried to keep a simple management philosophy.
“You get good people, you allow them to do their job, and you get out of their way,” he said.
He wants staff to bring him concerns with a possible solution already in mind. “They are the experts. We want those experts weighing in on stuff,” he said.
He often describes the office as a family and credits “wonderful people” for any success during his time in office.
West hopes that Associate Superintendent Chuck Wayman will step into the superintendent role, pending board approval. He noted Wayman’s background in special education and children’s services and said the organization is “pretty well oiled.”
His advice for Wayman is to study what works, fine-tune what needs improvement and avoid micromanaging a team that already knows its job.
Retirement will not take West far from Colusa County. He plans to stay near his grandchildren, celebrate his father’s 90th birthday in January and do some traveling.
“This community has been wonderful for me and my family,” West said.