Schools Superintendent Drescher announces retirement at end of year

Greg Drescher at work in his office the day he announced his pending retirement, effective Jan. 1, 2020. Royal Examiner Photo/Roger Bianchini

In a press release issued at 9:32 a.m. Friday morning, September 6, Warren County Public School Superintendent Greg Drescher announced his pending retirement on January 1, 2020. As noted in the release Drescher has been superintendent for the last five years of a 37-year career in education.

Drescher cites serious health issues his wife has been dealing with for several years as a primary factor in his decision.

“Many are aware of the health challenges my wife, Debbie, has been going through these last several years. The stage that she is in now is accelerating my retirement plans so that we can enjoy more time together. While certainly not the exact path I would be choosing, it is the right thing to do and I have no doubt will be best for all concerned,” he wrote.

The superintendent’s position was a closed session agenda topic at the Warren County School Board meeting two days earlier, Wednesday, September 4. That agenda item indicated discussion of “employees of the School Board, specifically the Superintendent’s evaluation.” Following the closed session, no action was announced or taken by the school board regarding the cited evaluation.

Contacted about his decision Drescher denied any burnout factor related to his experience on the EDA Board of Directors, particularly as chairman in 2017-18 as the EDA financial scandal unfolded. Drescher has been included in mounting public criticism as one of the primary public officials in a position to have prevented the EDA financial fraud scandal from developing as it did over the past five to 10 years.

“This is totally about my wife – this has been on the horizon for awhile,” Drescher told Royal Examiner. He said due to his wife’s health concerns he is unsure of the family’s retirement plan previously targeted at a property he took a large mortgage on to acquire on Virginia’s Northern Neck. The Dreschers live in a county house on land acquired in 1988, which Drescher said had a minimal mortgage due to the amount of work he was able to do on that construction project himself. That familiar home setting close to involved medical professionals could be preferable in the current circumstance, Drescher indicated.

Thus far there has been no information from the school board about a decision on filling the superintendent’s position upon Drescher’s pending January 1st retirement. But if Drescher’s path to the job is a clue, the school board has a recent history of promoting from within. Both Drescher and his predecessor Pam McInnis were elevated to superintendent from inside the school’s administrative system.

“Warren County Schools are in a good place systemically and in great hands with the leadership we have at all levels,” Drescher writes in his release, adding, “There is an ongoing effort to ensure we have the best people in place to do the best for our students. I leave knowing that our community supports our students and we will continue on the path of continuous improvement.”

The 59-year-old Drescher – we’re going to give you that last month, Greg – began his teaching career in Rappahannock County in 1983, while living in Warren County. He came to Warren County Public Schools in 1987 as a teacher at Ressie Jeffries, beginning a three-phased trip through county elementary schools. In 1991 he became an assistant principal at E. Wilson Morrison and then principal of Hilda J. Barbour. He moved into the schools administrative office in 2002, first as director of educational support, then director of instruction/assistant superintendent about seven years later before being named superintendent to succeed McInnis in 2015.

Of his experience in the Warren County Public School system, Drescher said in his release, “It has been a privilege to grow here professionally and our community has been (a) wonderful place to raise our two children. We made many dear friends while being a part of a caring and child centered school system that makes a difference in students’ lives every day … I thank all of those that have been my mentors and all of those that I have worked with side by side. Our schools are filled with kind and competent individuals and I am so proud to have been a part of Warren County Public Schools.

“I look forward to seeing all of the great things that will happen in the future,” Drescher concluded of the system he is leaving.