No more “go days”
Sutfin announces plan to retire
Superintendent Dr. Jim Sutfin meets with elementary students at Reeder Elementary in January 2020. Photo courtesy of Millard Public Schools Communications
Nov 18, 2021
After a long run, Superintendent Dr. Jim Sutfin is retiring. With spending more than 25 years in the Millard District, he is finally parting ways.
Millard staff received an unexpected email following the October school board meeting. Sutfin released his statement that he will retire at the end of this school year. He wrote, “after 33 years in the education field, it is time for me to step aside and find a new adventure.”
This announcement came as a shock for most Millard staff, but it wasn’t surprising for Bradley Millard, one of Millard South’s assistant principals.
“I wasn’t expecting it, but it’s not surprising…this last couple years has been a very rough time for superintendents across the nation.” Millard said the work Jim Sutfin has done for the district is admirable considering his heavy involvement in Mil- lard since his youth.
Sutfin has been involved within the Millard community since his high school years, where he attended Millard High from 1981-1985. If you look close enough, you can still see the legacy he left behind in the halls of Millard South. Thirty-six years later, the name Jim Sutfin is still plastered on the wall for his achievements in track and field, where he remains unchallenged for his times in the 100m and 200m dash
For students, he wasn’t just the superintendent. He was also the caller of our snow days, the one we bullied relentlessly on Twitter, the one who led us through a pandemic and made sure we got out ok. He was goofy, kind-hearted, and compassionate about his students.
“I’m kind of sad,” said freshman Max Leland. “He started right around the time I started school… He’s been a constant in my life.” But Leland says the memories he has of Sutfin coming into his class- room and interacting with the kids are some of his favorites that he’ll look back on in the future.
Although Sutfin is best known to current students as their superintendent, Sutfin also taught Advanced Placement Biology at Millard West where he also served as the Student Council Sponsor and an assistant track coach. From then on, Sutfin held many positions within MPS such as an assistant principal at Russell Middle, principal at Central Middle, several positions in the Human Resources department, and overseer of District Activity, Staff Development, and Student Service programs.
As superintendent, Sutfin saw the ushering in of 1:1, the addition of the Early College Program at SHS and of course, led the district through the challenges of operating a school district during a global pandemic.
The transitional phase will be a challenge, especially at the superintendent level, Millard said.
“Dr. Sutfin knew Millard…not knowing who [is taking over] is the big question.” Millard said he has no doubts about the district’s ability to replace Sutfin. “We have a great district, so we’ll always be able to roll and keep moving forward.”
