WISD will lose Hillis next year
Hillis worked in district for 31 years
By BARRY HALVORSON bhalvorson@journal-spectator.com

Staff photo by Barry Halvorson Wharton ISD Superintendent Don Hillis takes a brief break from his day. This week, Hillis announced his intent to retire after the current academic year, which ends on June 30.

A fixture at Wharton ISD since 1977, Superintendent Don Hillis has announced he will retire at the end of the current academic year.

"I'm completing the first year of a three-year contract," Hillis said.

"Right now I'm still healthy and I'll be completing my 39th year in public education and now it's time to try to spend some time doing other things. I'm glad I've had the opportunity to spend so much time with the Wharton ISD and it's been a great experience."

The construction of the new Wharton Elementary campus is putting the capstone on Hillis' career. It is something he had been hoping to see built for a long time.

"I was pleasantly surprised the community supported the bond issue to build it and passed it by a nice margin," he said. "But it's not just the new campus; the district is making substantial improvements at the junior high, Sivells and the high school. It's been a great experience in getting to work with an architectural team and going through the design phase of the project. PBK Architects and Drymalla Construction have both been first class to work with on these projects."

Making the new campus even more special for Hillis are his memories of seeing Dawson Elementary flooded twice during his time as superintendent. The first time was in October of 1998, during his second year as superintendent, and then again in November of 2004.

"I'll never forget my first sight of Dawson in '98 with water surrounding everything and knowing that every building, other than the gym, had a foot and a half of water in it. I remember asking myself, 'What are we going to do with 500 kids?'"

What the district did was set up classroom space in the district office, civic center and county library, and they got through the crisis. During the second flood, the district also made use of the new Wharton Boys and Girls Club building.

"Looking back, the way we were able to continue to educate the students is a tribute to the staff and the community. The work was hard but no one complained and everyone rolled up their shirt sleeves and did what was necessary. I'll always be proud of how we handled that situation."

Hillis is originally from this area, having attended public school in Rockdale and Port Lavaca. He graduated from Calhoun High School in 1965 and then Sam Houston State University in 1969 with a bachelor's degree in education.

His first job was in the classrooms of Brazosport High School in 1969. He described it as an "all-around" learning experience as he coached baseball, drove a bus and was the student council sponsor in addition to his teaching duties.

Continuing his own classroom education, Hillis would add a master's degree in education administration in 1973. He received his superintendent's certification in 1977. That same year, he was hired as assistant principal at Wharton High School by then-principal Jack Thornton.

"He offered me the job and I moved here in 1977," he said. "And I've been here ever since. My wife, Merri, was a first grade teacher and only retired a couple of years ago and both my children (daughter Holly and son John) are graduates of the Wharton ISD."

Hillis would serve nine years as assistant principal under Thornton's direction.

"It's a position that teaches you about school administration. You learn every inch of the role. When Thornton retired, I was named principal and did that for four years before moving over to the central office in 1990 as director of auxiliary services."

His responsibilities included transportation, facilities maintenance and food services. In 1977, he became superintendent.

"This job is tough enough without compounding it with problems," he said. "I've had great boards to work with along with an outstanding staff. The Texas Association of School Boards talks about 'a board of eight' - the seven trustees and the superintendent - and being a team. It might sound like lip service but when it works that way a school district can accomplish a lot."

Hillis said that since his arrival in Wharton, technology in general and computers in particular have had a dramatic impact on the educational system.

"It allows teachers to be more prepared in the classroom because computers give them access to so many more resources. But regardless of how good your technology is, there is still no substitute for good teachers. All the tech in the world is not going to replace having a real teacher in a classroom.

"Computers have also changed the business aspects of the profession. Purchasing orders, payroll, attendance and (Texas Education Agency) reports are now all done on computer. We used to have to write it all out by hand and it has made a big difference."

Also changing the landscape of education during Hillis' time in Wharton was the Columbine shootings.

"There is no doubt that it raised awareness about the worst that can happen and it still weighs on my mind every day," he said. "I compare it to waking up on a foggy morning and instantly thinking about how I hope there are no bus accidents and they run safely. It might be possible to design a school where that could never happen, but it wouldn't look like a school and it wouldn't be a place you'd want to send your children.

"The big thing for educators is the message that lets kids know that if they are having problems or know of drugs or weapons on campus, they tell someone. It's even part of our DARE training. The best thing we can do is to build up students' self-confi- dence and self-esteem and give them the underlying message that if there is a problem, to let someone know about it."

While his resignation doesn't go into effect until June 30, Hillis said he felt it was important to announce his intention now, to give the current school board sufficient time to search for its next superintendent.

"I'm still interested in the overall well-being of the district since I'm going to still be around. I've informed the board that I will assist in any way they want me to as they go about the business of conducting the search."