CAIRO — Dr. Kermit Gilliard said he’s looking forward to taking on new opportunities as he ends 32-plus years in public schools with 30 of those years spent in Grady County Schools.

Gilliard announced he was leaving his post as superintendent of Grady County Schools earlier this month. After earning his doctorate in education leadership from Valdosta State University in 2010, Gilliard continued to work his way up in the school system by taking on roles that included director of special education and assistant superintendent.

In 2015, Gilliard took another step up and became the superintendent.

Grady County Schools is described as a home to Gillard and he hopes to leave behind an easy plan for the board to execute as they continue the school year.

“While I’ve been the superintendent, we’ve had lots of good prncipals and assistant superintendents who are leading great work,” he said. “It was not me doing all the work, it was those people working with me and I hope they’re able to continue the work that we started.”

Overseeing $35 million worth of building plans and renovations on county schools is one of the things Gilliard said he’s most proud of during his time as superintendent.

“Grady County has not built a new school since 1985,” he said. “We’ve done over $35 million worth of work over the past six years.”

Moving forward, new educational programs and more building renovations are planned for the new interim superintendent, Dan Broome, to complete.

Gilliard said any new plans set for the school year should include the best interest for students throughout the county.

“One of the things that I’ve always told our new teachers is that it’s very important to me that we educate our children to the best level possible, especially those children who are wanting to remain in Grady County,” he said. “I’ll only be taken care of in my retirement as long as we educate our children because our children will become our workers here in the community. I hope that we have done a good job of that.”

For Broome in particular, Gilliard said the key to serving Grady County Schools successfully is to be ready to listen.

“My hope is that whoever takes my place will continue educating children,” he said. “Always be ready to listen — quick to listen, slow to speak.”

Gilliard’s last day as superintendent is October 29.

“We’ll miss Dr. Gilliard. He loved this community dearly with all his heart with the children in it,” John White, Grady County clerk and Board of Education member, said.