MISSOULA – Missoula County Public Schools Superintendent Mark Thane is announcing his plans to retire, telling trustees he will leave the position at the end of this school year.
Thane, who has headed the district for the past three years, succeeded Alex Apostle in the Superintendent’s post and has been heavily involved in the district’s major transformation under the Smart Schools 2020 bond issues.
That’s put him out front to lead the charge to revamp and rebuild nearly every building in the district, including the construction of the new Jeannette Rankin Elementary, which opened this week.
But Thane has been a fixture of MCPS his entire career. A Missoula native, he started with the district in the 1980-81 school year. Thane says while it “seems early” to announce his retirement, he wanted to make his intentions public to give the board a chance to find his replacement.
Board Chair Marcia Holland says Thane has brought “a sense of personal commitment and professionalism as superintendent to make sure every student in MCPS succeeds.”
Thane had won the Western Montana Superintendent of the Year award for his accomplishments a few weeks ago.
