Melrose selects superintendent

MELROSE — Meet the new boss, same (philosophy) as the old boss.

That was the message out of Melrose last week as the Melrose Municipal Schools Board of Education selected elementary school principal Brian Stacy as the district’s next superintendent.

Superintendent Jamie Widner, who is set to retire following 25 years with the district at the end of the school year, told The News that he expects Stacy will bring a similar philosophy to the position.

“My hope and I know the board’s hope is that the consistency and stability that we’ve had through the years just continues,” Widner said. “We have a tremendous staff of teachers over here. We have 20 licensed teachers, and they all are very good at what they do. I think (Stacy’s) philosophy is the same as mine: hire the best you can get, get out of their way and let them do their job and just give them direction as needed.”

Stacy said maintaining the continuity established under Widner was a major reason why he sought the position.

“I’m excited, I’m honored, I’m blessed. When I came to Melrose to take the elementary principal job I had no idea that this is where I’d end up,” he said. “Academically, athletically, the activities that they have there, it’s just a small rural school district that does everything well.”

Board President Joe Reed and Widner said after receiving four applications, the district narrowed the search down to the two candidates already with the district, Stacy and high school Principal Dickie Roybal.

“To pick one of the two we had to look at their strengths through a very strong magnifying glass to determine any difference between the two and the members of the school board felt Brian had a bit of a sharper image there,” Reed said. “As we looked at (Stacy’s) strengths, his strengths were just a tiny bit more than the other applicants.”

Stacy said he grew up in Nebraska after moving around frequently due to his father’s naval career. He started his teaching career in Kansas in 1984 and later taught in Nebraska before moving to New Mexico in 2000 to operate a New Mexico boys and girls ranch north of Clovis.

There Stacy said he and his wife would take in 10 troubled teenagers at a time and teach them life skills to put them on a brighter path. He then started coaching track at Clovis High School in 2002 and began working for Clovis Schools full-time as athletic director in 2005, a position he held for 7 1/2 years.

Stops for four years in Moriarty and one year in Arizona as athletic director preceded Stacy’s return to New Mexico in January 2017 when he came to Melrose.

Besides serving as the elementary school principal, Stacy has also been the special education coordinator and track coach for Melrose. Stacy said he still hopes to continue coaching track as the superintendent.

Reed said the board has decided to give Stacy a one-year contract, with the salary to be determined following the current legislative session.

“The school board is confident that as Mr. Stacy settles in, he’s going to do a tremendous job for us,” Reed said.