Harlingen school superintendent to retire in June
HARLINGEN — Linda Wade, superintendent of the Harlingen school district, will retire in June.
After 21 years of working for the Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District, seven of those years as superintendent, Wade said Tuesday that it is time to move on to new challenges.
“I have completed 35 wonderful years in the field of education, so it’s just time to retire,” Wade said.
Wade was a teacher for about 14 years in Missouri before becoming a math teacher at Coakley Middle School when she first came to school district in 1987.
Wade took the position of superintendent in 2001, replacing Jesus Chavez who became superintendent of the Corpus Christi school district.
Wade submitted her letter of retirement this month, she said, and approval of her resignation is currently being processed by the school board.
Wade will leave her duties as superintendent in June, she said. She leaves the district with an ending salary of $160,000, Wade said in an earlier interview.
Wade said she doesn’t have any retirement plans at this time.
“When you retire, you’re not supposed to make plans,” Wade said happily. “My husband is retiring at the same time so (plans) are to be determined. But we will be spending lots of time with our family and friends.”
Wade said she also hopes to spend time at the couple’s South Padre Island condominium and their house at Lake of the Ozarks, Mo.
The school board will hold a special meeting Saturday to start its search for her successor, Wade said.
Finding a new superintendent is a lengthy process, Wade added, which is why she decided to announce her retirement intentions now.
Wade said she hopes the school board will chose a superintendent who will care about the school district staff, students and the community. She also hopes that person will be a strong communicator and be willing to listen.
“First of all, the person that sits in my chair is an extremely lucky one,” Wade said. “It’s a tradition of excellence that they will accept. They have the right people here to follow that tradition.”
Wade said she also hopes the future superintendent will work with the community and establish partnerships to create the synergy that will lead the district to success.
Summing up her time with the district, Wade said she is happy to have had the chance to empower children to flourish and have self-confidence to become productive members of society.
“Having the opportunity to work one-on-one with students and seeing them succeed and go on to become successful adults — there’s no greater success you can ask for.”
Wade said she is sad to see this chapter of her life close, but is happy for the new challenges that might come her way.
“HCISD is family to me,” Wade said. “It will be difficult to replace.”
