Lee McDadeWith the end of the school year came the end of lengthy careers for some employees of the Hamilton County school system. This year, longtime central office staff members Lee McDade, Christie Jordan and several others have retired.
Included in the list of 2017-2018 retirees is former interim superintendent Kirk Kelly, who was with the school system for 35 years. Kelly officially announced his retirement after Bryan Johnson took over the helm of the district last July. Kelly served in the position for more than a year while the district searched for a leader after Superintendent Rick Smith resigned in March 2016 after months of turmoil following the 2015 Ooltewah High School rape.
Retiring at the end of this fiscal year are chief of school operations McDade, who has been with the district 30 years; Jordan, assistant superintendent of the finance department, retiring after 28 years; Col. Thomas McConnell, director of the district’s JROTC program; and Stacey Stewart, assistant superintendent of human resources, after 32 years.
Christie JordanThe longest-serving district employee to retire this fiscal year is Jane Barker, director of school-aged child care, who had been with the district for 45 years.
Many in the district office knew McDade would retire at the end of this year – his wife, Big Ridge Elementary assistant principal Connie McDade, died last December – but that didn’t lessen the impact of his loss or that of Jordan, said Superintendent Bryan Johnson.