WILLMAR - For Jerry Kjergaard, 38 years in education seemed to be long enough.
Kjergaard, superintendent of Willmar Public Schools, announced his retirement this week. His last day will be June 30.
Kjergaard said his wife Jan is retiring this year, too, and “it seemed like a good idea to go at the same time.”
Still, after 27 years in school administration, he said, he’s not used to having a lot of time on his hands.
“I’m a little apprehensive, because I’ve never been retired before,” he said. “I probably haven’t had more than a week or two off in 27 years.”
Kjergaard said there was no “big thing” that had happened to make him think about retirement.
He and his wife talked about it, he said, and decided to make the move.
“I was just ready,” he added. “I’ve had a lot of friends retire; now it’s my turn.”
Kjergaard said he hopes to take several months without a set schedule before he makes definite plans for the future.
They will take some time to visit their two kids and their grandkids. Cleaning the garage is at the top of the list, too. “We have boxes of pictures from 1985 that still need to be gone through,” he said.
“I just want to do stuff there’s no deadline for, with nobody looking over my shoulder,” he said.
Kjergaard’s final six months with the district will be busy ones. The district has a $50.8 million bond referendum scheduled for May 19.
There’s also a round of budget cuts coming to adjust to rising costs and changing needs.
Kjergaard will be testifying at the Legislature about allowing the next school year to start before Labor Day.
Another goal before he leaves is to make sure everything is ready for a new superintendent when he leaves. It’s what was done for him when he arrived in July 2008.
“I hope to leave everything in good shape,” he said. “I was appreciative of how the district was ready to rock and roll when I walked in.”
