Robert Maile will retire as superintendent of the Kansas School for the Deaf at the end of the school year.
His announcement last week came on the heels of the State Board of Education’s decision to have one superintendent for both KSD and the Kansas School for the Blind in Kansas City, Kan.
That decision is the byproduct of both schools safely emerging from the threat of closure by the Governor’s Facilities Closure and Realignment Committee.
Maile’s decision to retire, however, was not based on the board’s decision.
“I actually postponed it a bit because of the impending closure decision,” he said.
He stayed because he thought his retirement could affect the outcome of the committee’s recommendation to Gov. Mark Parkinson, who was looking for budget savings by closing some state facilities.
“Now that they’ve decided, I can go ahead with my plans,” Maile said.
Maile had no aspirations as a college student to teach in the field of deaf education. However, when he graduated from college as a math and chemistry teacher the Michigan School for the Deaf needed instructors.
“I didn’t know any deaf people,” he said. “I went and visited and it was interesting to me.”
That visit led to a 47-year career as an instructor and administrator in deaf schools and programs.
Maile moved to Olathe in 1989 to begin work as Director of Instructional Services at KSD. He was an assistant superintendent at the Oklahoma School for the Deaf when he was hired.
“One of the reasons I came here was the deaf community in Johnson County and Olathe is very active and involved in the school,” he said.
He said that involvement made his job easier when he replaced Gerald Johnson as superintendent in September 2000.
During his tenure, Maile has enhanced the school’s role as a center for ASL-English bilingual instruction, making it a model for other deaf schools.
Another accomplishment is the increase in teacher salaries to where they’re only one year behind teachers in the Olathe school district.
Maile said the discrepancy was something he hadn’t experienced until coming to Kansas.
“Most special education teachers in other states were paid more than their counterparts,” he said.
He was glad his efforts and those of the school caught on with state legislators, especially Olathe Rep. Arlen Siegfreid, who spearheaded a law to bring about pay equality for special education teachers.
And he’s most proud of leaving KSD intact. He has confidence KSB superintendent Madeleine Burkindine, who will become superintendent for both schools upon Maile’s retirement, will represent KSD well.
“If Ms. Burkindine and I had our way, it wouldn’t happen, the schools would each have a superintendent,” he said.
He thinks the move will be positive for the school, given the alternative of closure. The downside, he said, is Burkindine will not have time to become involved in the community while running both schools.
“I enjoyed being involved with chamber, the city and the community,” he said. “I will miss it.”
Maile’s last day at KSD is July 1.
