One of the individuals who were instrumental in the maintenance and construction of several schools in the Troup County School System announced his retirement Thursday.

John Radcliffe said he is retiring from the school system, effective March 31.

“As many of you know, it has been a challenging couple of years for me personally,” The time has come for me to decide on certain priorities in life. I recognize that I must focus more on family, children and grandchildren with my remaining time.”

Radcliffe came to the school district in July 2009 as the assistant superintendent of operations. 

During that time, he has been involved in the renovation of Callaway High School and Troup High School cafeterias, adding that the lunch areas look more like something students would find in a college setting than a high school. 

Additionally, he said the school has added 24 classrooms at Callaway, Franklin Forest, Hollis Hands and was involved in major renovations at the Troup High School Fine Arts building after a flood. 

Additional improvements include upgrading the system’s HVAC system, security upgrades and getting Chromebooks for every student.

Radcliffe said some of his greatest accomplishments were getting the SPLOST V vote approved which helped build the Troup High School and LaGrange High School gyms. 

“Our new athletic facilities have been a source of pride and angst,” Radcliffe said. “However, tonight (Thursday), we opened up Troup High School officially this afternoon.”

He said getting that vote passed in all 16 precincts was an accomplishment. 

“We worked hard to get that project to the public,” Radcliffe said. “If there was a meeting, we were there. We made sure we talked to people and explained the value of the project.”

 He was also involved heavily in the construction of new elementary schools — Ethel Kight and Clearview Elementary.

Moreover, he said the upgrades in bus security with the program Synoiva was a point of pride. He said the program allows administrators and parents to track buses at all times. It also can send communication to parents about when buses will arrive at a home or to the school system regarding mechanical problems. 

Just because Radcliffe is retiring, it doesn’t mean he’ll be out of the picture entirely.

“I will continue to support this system and be an advocate for the Troup County School System, parents, teachers, principals, administrators and all of our support staff,” he said. “I have shared with (Superintendent) Dr. (Brian) Shumate that I’ll be a phone call away if any of the cabinet needs my support of assistance.”

Board of Education Chairman Kirby Hancock said the school system owes Radcliffe a great deal of gratitude.  

“I am glad to hear that you will still be around,” he said.

Shumate said that when he started with the school system six months, he felt TCSS had some of the nicest facilities in the country.

“The qualify facilities and maintenance and all that stuff — it makes a huge difference in student learning,” he said. “Your work is not just work on a building. It is helping kids learn.”