After 35 years of serving Klein ISD, Superintendent Jim Cain has announced he will retire from the school district at the end of the 2015-16 school year.
“I want to thank the school board members for their support and our excellent working relationship as a team of eight,” Cain said in a statement. “In addition, I want to thank all Klein ISD employees with whom I have been privileged to know and work with over the years. This will mark my 47th year in public education, and I know of no finer profession in which to serve. My 35 years in Klein ISD have been very rewarding for my family and for me.”
Cain announced his retirement at a Sept. 14 KISD board of trustees meeting. His final day serving the position will be June 30, after which he will serve as a special assistant to the school board in July and August to help transition to a new superintendent, he said.
Judy Rimato, KISD associate superintendent for communications and planning, said the board of trustees has begun preliminary discussions regarding the hiring of a new superintendent. The board will have further discussions on the hiring process in October and is expected to hire a search firm to help in the process in the next few months, Rimato said.
Although the timeline for the process is unknown, she said the new superintendent will likely be hired prior to Cain’s last day.
"This will mark my 47th year in public education, and I know of no finer profession in which to serve. My 35 years in Klein ISD have been very rewarding for my family and for me.”
- Jim Cain, Klein ISD superintendent
Cain first began his career with the district in 1978 as an assistant principal at Benfer Elementary after previously working in Clear Creek ISD in Illinois, his home state. He later served as principal of Greenwood Forest Elementary and assistant principal at Hildebrandt Intermediate and Klein Oak High schools. He also served as principal at Nitsch Elementary School in addition to other administrative positions for the district.
He was named KISD superintendent in July 2004. Since Cain took over the reigns of the district, KISD has grown by 13,500 students and 19,000 single-family homes while seeing increases in graduation rates, decreases in dropout rates and the passage of three bond referendums, according to district officials.
“On behalf of the board of trustees, I genuinely thank Dr. Cain for his excellent leadership over the last decade,” Board President Steve Smith said in a statement. “KISD is indeed fortunate to have had such an effective and caring leader. Over the coming months we look forward to Dr. Cain’s wise counsel as we begin a search process to find a new superintendent sufficiently qualified to carry on the traditions, challenges and successes of KISD.”
Rimato, who has been with the district for 37 years, said the KISD community will miss Cain.
“He is an icon in the district,” she said. “He’s an outstanding, tremendous leader, and I think if you read the Facebook comments [on his retirement announcement] just since last night, it sort of sums up how the employees and community feel about this man. He’s really special.”
