Heather Grumley, Superintendent of the Garfield Re-2 School District, informed the District School Board that she intends to retire June 30, 2025 at the end of the 2024-25 school year, an Re-2 news release states.

Grumley started in Garfield Re-2 in 1993 as a teacher at the former Roy Moore Elementary School. She then spent a year traveling with Up With People before returning as a fourth-grade teacher at Elk Creek Elementary, then known as K-8 Riverside School. 

Before becoming superintendent, Grumley served as assistant superintendent for three years, as principal of Graham Mesa Elementary for seven years and as an academic coach in Elk Creek and Kathryn Senor Elementary. 

“Serving Garfield Re-2 for over three decades has been one of the greatest honors of my life. As a devoted employee and advocate for this district, I have worked alongside many talented and dedicated colleagues who share the same commitment to excellence. Together, we have laid a strong foundation for the future, and I believe the district is in an excellent position to continue its forward trajectory,” Grumley said.

As superintendent, Grumley said the development of the strategic plan and stabilization of the District’s finances were major accomplishments, as part of her 32 years in the school district. 

“While I am stepping down from my role, I do so with confidence that the right leadership will carry on the important work we’ve started. The district’s path forward is clear, and I trust that the Board will select someone who will continue to advocate for our students and build upon the progress we’ve made,” Grumley explained. 

Britton Fletchall, Garfield Re-2 School Board President, said Grumley will be missed.

“We do not want her to go,” Fletchall said. “We honor Superintendent Grumley’s desire to transition to a new chapter in her life.”

The School Board will now begin a nationwide search for a new superintendent, a process that he said he hopes Grumley will be an active participant in.

“We hope that she will continue to be a part of rebuilding the leadership of the school district,” Fletchall said. “It will be important for her to have a voice in the future of the District where she has had such a significant impact.”

Fletchall said that the Strategic Plan will be the cornerstone during the search for the next superintendent of Garfield Re-2. 

“The Board, our leaders, and our staff are completely bought into the work we are accomplishing through the Strategic Plan and we are seeing improvement,” he said. “We want to continue on that trajectory.”

Grumley’s official letter of retirement will be a part of the Nov. 13 school board meeting. Following this, the next steps the Garfield Re-2 board will take includes issuing a request for proposals from qualified agencies that can assist with the superintendent selection process. 

Fletchall said that they hope to have a variety of public participation opportunities for both Garfield Re-2 staff and the community of the district as they go forward and that more details will come out once the board has selected a partner to conduct the search with.

“Thank you once again for the opportunity to give my life to serve this district. It has been a privilege to dedicate myself to Garfield Re-2, and I will always be a proud member of the district that has raised me,”  Grumley said. “It’s been an amazing ride.”