'The party's over' for longtime Campbell schools superintendent George Nolley

Retiring Campbell County Schools Superintendent George Nolley is known as a straight-shooter — and a lighthearted one at that.

He says he has tried to take his job seriously, but not himself. A dedicated public educator could do worse than heed that advice. After all, Nolley’s career in education has spanned decades.

He began as a teacher in 1962, when he was just 20 years old. Now, almost 50 years later, last week marked the end of a tenure that included 30 years at the helm of Campbell County Schools.

Nolley made his retirement announcement in April, playing Willie Nelson’s “The Party’s Over” at a school board meeting. He then told district officials the ride was over and it was time to turn out the lights. His remarks, as usual, were met with hearty laughter.

Following that meeting, the school board promoted Robert Johnson, formerly assistant superintendent for administration, to Nolley’s position.

Johnson, who officially started as superintendent Wednesday, said he always will remember his first meeting with Nolley during a job interview 13 years ago.

“He treated me like he’d known me for years,” Johnson said.

He said they talked for an hour and a half, but only five minutes had to do with the job.

“He wanted to get to know me to see if he thought I would be a good fit in his administration,” Johnson said. “I think he wanted to find out about me as a person, and I think that’s an important thing.”

Johnson said as he’s watched Nolley lead the division he’s seen him treat people fairly, give principals the autonomy to run their own schools and above all keep things light.

“He always kept the office relaxed. He kept people positive and smiling. That’s a good trait,” he said.

Tom Webb, current Lynchburg School Board vice chairman and a former Campbell County Schools administrator, called Nolley a principal’s superintendent.

“He never was one to be around a lot at the schools unless he was wanted or needed,” Webb said. “He never harassed or bothered you. We were left pretty much alone to do what we knew we were supposed to do.”

Webb said Nolley might have had a brusque nature, but he also had a soft spot. He recalled many times when Nolley would help find jobs for special-needs students after graduation, or make sure ill employees received the health care they needed.

“It’s highly unusually the top administrator would take that keen of an interest in that,” Webb said.

Leon Brandt, Campbell County School Board chairman, has worked with Nolley for 16 years since joining the board in 1993.

“He was somebody you could easily go and talk to if you had a problem or needed to discuss something,” Brandt said. “His door was always open.”

Brandt also said Nolley was never shy about speaking his mind, even when others disagreed.

“You might not like what he tells you, but he’s going to tell it to you,” Brandt said. “What you see is what you get.”

In 1989, Nolley’s outspoken attitude sparked a fierce debate in the Brookville area when he recommended the demotion of Tomahawk principal Charles Booker, who was a longtime division administrator. Nolley brought various allegations against Booker, who died in 2002, in several public personnel hearings.

Recounting the turbulent experience, Nolley said he was sorry the incident was so public. He also noted it was difficult for his family.

“People had billboards out on Timberlake Road to get rid of me,” he said. “It bothered them, it bothered my family, but it didn’t bother me.”

Nolley recalled at the time he set up an interview for a superintendent position in another school system, but he never ended up going.

“I don’t have any regrets,” he said, noting it’s been almost 20 years since he contemplated leaving.

Now as he does depart from a job he’s done for the better part of his adult life, Nolley has grand retirement ambitions.

He plans to work with his grandson’s Boy Scout group (Nolley is an Eagle Scout) and with Longwood University student teachers. He also has a project in the works called the Supt’s Group, a taskforce he’s formed to help superintendents deal with the falloff in stimulus funds that he predicts will come in the 2011-12 school year.

“The bottom line on it is I’m convinced two years from now when stimulus money runs out, people are going to be hurtin’,” he said.

Those who know Nolley are familiar with his common refrain “the bottom line on it is….” The phrase is part of the candor that’s seen him through the trials and tribulations of running a school system.

During his career, Nolley has seen dramatic changes to public education. His first year as a principal at Bassett High School in Henry County, he was head of the school as it confronted integration. He’s also witnessed technology evolve to play an essential role in the classroom.

“High-tech then was what they called a mimeograph machine,” he said of when he started in education.

He said he remembers when schools didn’t have resource officers or school nurses, when there wasn’t alternative school for at-risk students and when it wasn’t the norm for students to have access to college-level courses in high school.

For three decades, he’s led the division, and while much has changed, it would seem he has not. Those who know Nolley characterize him as someone who has always been a personable leader with high expectations and a relaxed approach.

When he came to the division as a 37-year-old father of two, people noted him as “low-keyed.” According to newspaper archives, he called teachers the greatest asset to the school division and encouraged parents to call him at home if they had any problems.

“I’m not planning anything sensational,” Nolley told The News in 1979. “And maybe that’s good.”