Modesto City Schools superintendent tells staff she will retire in January

Modesto City Schools Superintendent Pam Able will retire in early 2018, she announced in a newsletter to staff on Friday.

Able, who was promoted to lead Stanislaus County’s largest school district following the departure of Arturo Flores in 2011, said in the note that she plans a formal announcement Monday. She declined to comment.

Able’s plan to retire in 2017 came up during board elections in 2015; at that time she said no decision had been made.

“Well, the time has come,” she said in the newsletter. “....To say that I struggled with this decision would be a lie. It is time for me to enjoy a weekend like a normal person. Per contract, this job is 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year – and I took that seriously.”

The board of trustees, set to meet Monday, will consider how to fill Able’s position in closed session then, Able wrote.

The next superintendent will take over a district that employs nearly 3,000 people, making it the county’s third-largest employer, according to the Modesto City Schools website. It operates 22 elementary schools, four junior high schools and seven comprehensive high schools, with a total student population of around 30,000.

Prior to her current job, Able had served as associate superintendent overseeing Modesto’s elementary, junior high and preschool programs. She previously held positions as a principal and administrator in the human resources department.

“I am proud of everything we accomplished during my tenure,” Able wrote. “It wasn’t always rainbows and butterflies, but when I look back on my time here, it will be happy thoughts. We are home to some of the most passionate, intelligent, hard-working people.”

This story was originally published November 17, 2017 at 5:25 PM with the headline "Modesto City Schools superintendent tells staff she will retire in January."