LOUISVILLE, Ky. — It’s the end of an era for Jefferson County Public Schools' leadership, as Superintendent Marty Pollio is retiring at the end of the 2024-25 school year after an eight-year tenure. 

What You Need To Know

  • Marty Pollio, superintendent of Jefferson County Public Schools, will retire July 1, 2025  

  • This is his 28th year in the district and his eighth year serving as superintendent

  • The Jefferson County Board of Education is charged with selecting a new superintendent 

  • It will be a several month-long process before the new superintendent is selected 

When Pollio signed his contract extension nearly three years ago, he said he anticipated this year to be his last.

“It took me four weeks to be able to press 'send' on it because it was such a difficult, emotional time for me to do that," Pollio said. "This district means a whole lot to me; it really does." 

This year is Pollio's 28th in the district and his eighth as superintendent, a job he described as challenging.

“I’ll be very candid; it's a very difficult job," Pollio said. "The shelf life of a superintendent right now is very short." 

He said there were a lot of hard days, especially around the COVID-19 pandemic and making decisions about weather. But the worst day by a long shot, Pollio said, was the first day of school last year.

“It did not work out the way that I wanted it to work out, clearly, and I made a lot of errors in there as a leader that I learned from," Pollio said. "I think the most challenging part about that was as the day started, a lack of real feeling like I could control the situation." 

Pollio said his biggest accomplishment is resiliency.

“I mean, no other educator anywhere in the history, other than all of us that are in the job from 2020 to 2022, have gone through a pandemic," he said. "None of us have gone through the staff shortages like we've gone through in the past three or four years." 

The Jefferson County Board of Education is charged with selecting a new superintendent. Pollio said he thinks there will be candidates interested and advised the next superintendent be full of passion.

“You better truly care about this district," Pollio said. "You better truly care about the kids of this district because if you do not have that passion and fire, it’ll beat you down pretty quickly." 

It will be a several month-long process before a new superintendent is selected.

Pollio’s retirement is effective July 1, 2025 and said he wants to remain in public education afterward. 

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