May 25, 2017 at 8:57 a.m.
Thimm to retire; says he'll volunteer as advisor through bond projects
Thimm to retire; says he'll volunteer as advisor through bond projects
The news comes as a surprise to most, as Thimm was a vocal and public face behind the referendum for the past six months. But, he wanted to assure the board and the district that, if they’d have him, he would like to stay on as a volunteer advisor throughout the process that will include construction of a new elementary school, a community center at the high school and renovations at Taylors Falls Elementary.
Thimm was emotional as he made the announcement, tearing up as he let the board know it was his time. “This was a tough decision. Very emotional,” he said.
Jerry Vitalis made the motion to accept Thimm’s retirement, but he did so with reluctance as he said he was going to greatly miss him. “I do very much appreciate you being willing to stay on through this project,” Vitalis said, in reference to the bond issues.
Board chair Mark Leigh said, “Unfortunately, we knew you couldn’t stay here forever. You’ve done a heck of a job.”
Thimm took over as the Superintendent in the beginning of the 2013 school year. Besides being the catalyst behind the bond referendum, the district’s enrollment was able to stay steady after facing decline in prior years. The district also made significant steps in energy conservation, finishing solar panel installation on all of the district buildings and being one of the largest subscribers to the community solar garden at Eichten’s Farm in Center City.
They also rebranded the district into a consistent view, came up with a strategic plan, and passed a previous operating levy. They were also named to the Star Tribune’s Top 150 Places to Work in both 2015 and 2016.
Before becoming superintendent, Thimm was a longtime principal at Taylors Falls Elementary and the Activities Director at the high school, as well as a teacher and coach in the district.
After teaching for two years in the Glidden-Ralston School District in western Iowa from 1977-79, Thimm applied for numerous college basketball graduate assistant coaching jobs in the Midwest, which led him to the University of Wisconsin-Plateville for a year.
Despite his love for coaching, he had a disdain for the recruiting aspect of college basketball, and he went to UWP’s career center, where he stumbled upon a hand-typed call for a head basketball coach and 9-12 social studies teacher in Taylors Falls, Minnesota. That led to Thimm meeting up with then Superintendent Sig Rimestad, who offered him the job of coach and teacher at Taylors Falls High School, a post he remained in until the ‘90s.
By the 1991-92 school year, the TF and Chisago Lakes districts were in a planned cooperation and combination stage. As the student council advisor at the time, Thimm had a big hand in the plans of bringing the student bodies together, which included combined dances and homecoming celebrations.
By then, Thimm was teaching social studies in the morning at TF, history in the afternoon at CLHS and then coaching the Chisago Lakes basketball team after school. He worked closely with then-Activities Director Pete Eikren to come up with the new name, logo and colors for the combined Taylors Falls and Chisago Lakes mascot, who were the Trojans and Bluejays then.
Thimm said the finalists were the Bears, Wildcats and Eagles, but the ‘Cats won out eventually. He joked that if nothing else, he’d be a good quiz answer if someone asked who the only person was to coach the Bluejays of Taylors Falls, the Trojans and the Wildcats.
In 1992-93, Eikren moved on to be the Chisago Lakes Middle School principal, and Thimm was selected to be the districts new AD. After a few years, however, he gave up coaching to focus on just being the AD since his two daughters were starting to get into activities and he wanted to spend more time with them.
In his time in charge of the activities, the district added boys and girls alpine ski, boys and girls soccer, girls hockey and the dance team.
Thimm spent nearly a decade as the AD before he was appointed to be the Taylors Falls Elementary Principal, where he spent 12 years leading that building. It was at that time that he decided to go back and get his superintendent license.
In the fall of 2012, superintdent Mike McLoughlin announced his intentions to retire, and Thimm jumped at the chance to lead the district. He beat out almost 30 qualified candidates to get the job that he’s held for the past four years.
In all, Thimm has spent 40 years in education, with more than 37 of them in this area. He’s been around for the immense growth of not only the district but the community around the schools.
But, he said, it was finally time to call it quits. “It really boils down to a family decision,” he said. “I talked with my wife and kids and you get to a certain point where you’ve made a positive impact on the community. You see so many times when people don’t have a choice to leave, and I thought I would leave on a high note.”
Thimm noted that graduation rates are up, local test scores are up, and that he sees a lot of positives happening in the district.
“We have all these great things going on out in the district and everyone from the students, to the community, to businesses, are going to benefit from this bond we just passed,” he said. “So it was a good time to to make the decision.”
Longtime Director of Business Services Heide Miller said, “I have thoroughly enjoyed working with Joe - first as the activities director, then the principal at Taylors Falls Elementary School and finally as the Superintendent. He made me feel welcome and a part of the Chisago Lakes Schools team from day one. He has a passion for Chisago Lakes Schools like no other person in the district. He definitely made sure that everyone was informed about the bond referendum and answered questions at countless meetings. His efforts played a huge part in the successful passage of the bond referendum. He has once again connected the schools with the five communities. He is always positive and upbeat. My only regret is that I will not finish out my career working with Joe.”
Thimm will not be going away quietly though. He can’t just quit the district cold turkey.
He plans to stay on until September 29 to help with the transition to a new superintendent into the 2017-18 school year, but he will also be the school board’s representative in all of the bond projects in the years to come, and he’ll be taking no salary to do so.
“I’m going to sit in on board meetings and give them the details and keep them informed,” he said. “I’ll work with the communities and the architects to make sure everyone is following through with the plan that we’ve talked about since 2015.”
Miller did say that a contract will have to be drawn up between Thimm and the district stating that he is volunteering his time, what the board expects of him, and how many hours he will volunteer. Thimm noted that districts of Chisago Lakes’ size typically shift a current paid administrator to this type of position and hire a temporary administrator to fill the vacant spot. With him doing it pro bono, it seems like a given that there will be no issue drawing up an agreeable volunteer contract.
His presence will also aid the new superintendent, whoever it may be, to acclimate to the job. “I will be able to help get them out there to the public and make sure it’s a smooth transition,” he said. “I want to make sure they feel comfortable in their new position.”
Thimm said he will miss the relationships he’s cultivated over the past 37 years. “The relationships you develop with kids, staff and families are great,” he noted. “Day-to-day, I can go to any part of the district and I know people. It’s going to be tough not making those rounds.”
He certainly won’t be lacking things to do in his retirement, however. Along with the construction processes, Thimm will be spending a lot more time with his family. Currently, his daughters live in Brooklyn, New York and Los Angeles, California, and he’ll get to see them much more often than he did when he had to work visits around his school calendar. He also plans on working on some driftwood projects that he enjoys crafting. He makes benches, tables, chairs and other items from driftwood and old steel frames.
Regardless of what he does, the district will always be in his heart. It’s what he’s known for the better part of four decades. “I care about this district and this area, and I want it to continue to go in the right direction.”
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