RATHDRUM - Tom Taggart has experienced a lot of change while serving in local public leadership positions in the past 25 years.

Taggart, who has been the Lakeland Joint School District director of business and operations for the past 14 years and served as Kootenai County administrator and clerk for a combined 11 years before that, will retire on June 30.

"I've enjoyed working with people to make a difference at the local level," Taggart said. "It gets harder to do that when you head up the chain (at the state and federal levels)."

Taggart, 61, said his service at the school district has been the most rewarding among his years in public leadership.

"If you do your job well, that allows the teachers to do the best job they can," he said. "It's rewarding - especially at graduations when you see students moving on."

During his time at the school district, managing growth was the challenge. Two schools - Twin Lakes Elementary and Timberlake Junior High - opened during Taggart's tenure.

Then the Great Recession hit and Lakeland's enrollment began to decline with declining state funding for schools.

"Lakeland has had a great reputation for years and didn't want to see that come unraveled due to budget cuts," Taggart said. "I'm pretty proud of how we got through that."

Taggart also served as Lakeland's point person on the Kootenai Technical Education Campus (KTEC), a joint venture in Rathdrum with the Post Falls and Coeur d'Alene school districts and business community.

"That was a great joint effort," Taggart said. "Things don't always happen that way."

Taggart's projects during his time at the county included the transfer station on Ramsey Road, 911 Center upgrades, a jail expansion and transforming the EMS system from mostly a volunteer program to a countywide agency.

"I came at a time when there were a lot of new projects going on," he said.

Taggart also previously served on the Lakeland School Board for six years and on the Rathdrum City Council for a year and a half.

He plans to continue to assist with the Idaho Association of School Business Officials after he retires. He's currently the association's volunteer executive director, but will move into a part-time paid role July 1 to assist with professional development.

Taggart said he also plans to spend time with family and travel after he's finished at the school district.

* Other Lakeland employees who plan to retire and have been approved by the school board are: Sharon Slaney, Timberlake High librarian; Mike Normand, Lakeland High language arts teacher; and Deborah McCowan, Lakeland Junior High science and social studies teacher. The board is expected to approve more retirees later this month and in May.