BASALT — After 32 years in education and eight years as Basalt High School principal, Jim Waddick will send graduates off into the wide world for a last time and retire at the end of this school year.

After spending 32 years around kids, you might think he’s ready to leave them behind. He’s not. Waddick said the daily contact with his students is what he will miss most.

The principal is proud of the high quality of education that the school administration and teachers have worked so hard to achieve. One of his goals when he became principal in 2000-01 was to motivate students to go beyond academic requirements.

“I didn’t see many seniors step up for any academic challenge,” he said.

Basalt High School teamed with Colorado University seven years ago on a program that provided the ultimate motivation. College-bound students were able to earn high school and college credits for some advanced classes. That allowed some students to skip entry-level college courses and reduce their time in college by a semester or more — ultimately saving their families money by shortening their time in college.

Waddick said Basalt High School, and much of the primary-education field, has improved in recent years by following a more integrated approach to teaching. Once upon a time, teachers were isolated and concentrated only on their interaction with students. They weren’t concerned about the whole educational experience, he said. Now teachers are plugged into the broader experience even when it’s not their subject, he said.

Waddick, 59, spent his first 18 years in education teaching at a high school on a Navajo reservation in the Four Corners area. He developed a love of the canyon country and a passion for hiking to Anasazi sites. He spent seven years working as a volunteer ranger at Mesa Verde National Park near Durango.

He accepted a position as assistant principal at Roaring Fork High School in the mid-1990s and spent six years in that position before taking the reins at Basalt High School.

He said the staffs at both schools were “top-notch.” One of the greatest compliments he received while at Basalt High School was when a parent told him he had hired all the right people. Assembling a great staff is the goal of any principal or manager of any type.

That said, Waddick is concerned about the effects of soaring housing costs on the school district’s ability to continue attracting the “best and brightest.” The cost of living has always been high for teachers in the Roaring Fork Valley. However, there were affordable options in places such as New Castle for teachers who wanted to buy a residence, he said.

The affordable options are fewer and farther between now. Waddick said he isn’t sure he could purchase a home now as an educator moving to the valley. The issue will become pronounced as teachers who bought their homes years ago retire and their replacements face a tougher time acquiring housing.

The school district is aware of the problem, Waddick said, and working on affordable housing projects for its staff.

There is a challenge Waddick won’t miss. Public education has become increasingly politicized, with state regulators peering over administrators’ shoulders all the time. “Even in eight years that’s grown,” he said.

There is a “no-win component” because of conflicting goals and requirements at the state and federal levels. Public schools have a mandate to try to educate everyone who walks through the door. That “sets us up for failure” with some of the regulations, he said.

That won’t be his concern in another month or so. Waddick will remain in the valley after retirement. His wife Pat is a principal at the Carbondale Montessori School. Jim’s goal is to travel more, but he hasn’t ruled out working part-time.

Kevin Schott will become the Basalt High School principal. He was an assistant principal there from 1994 to 1996, before moving to Grand Junction, where he was the assistant principal and the principal.

scondon@aspentimes.com