Supt. Peter Smet set to step down after 30-plus years with district
By Jason Arndt
Editor
Peter Smet found more than just a job when he first arrived to the Burlington Area School District to serve as its vocational coordinator in 1988.
He discovered a community, where he raised a family and rose to the ranks of superintendent by 2012. His tenure with the school district will draw to a close on June 30.
“It has been a good run. It has been a great place to be. I have worked with a lot of people that have made me feel very welcome,” said Smet, who remembered when he came to Burlington area with his wife, Teresa.
“I came to Burlington for the job with the school district, and we didn’t have any children at that time. But, Burlington seemed to be a great place to raise children and a great community to live in.”
Smet, whose successor is Stephen Plank, credits the community not just for the warm welcome, but also for the district’s success.
The district’s success includes a strong school report card, which has consistently exceeded expectations, a healthy financial outlook and a recently passed referendum for facility improvements.
“It takes a lot of people to do their part and a lot of strong board members,” he said. “We have had a lot of community support (and) we had a lot of great teachers and administrators over the years,” he said.
“They have done a great job as leaders and I am just a small part of the whole thing.”
Local, state transformation
Smet, who grew up in Stoughton, received an undergraduate degree from University of Wisconsin-Platteville before earning his master’s from UW-Madison. He also garnered education certifications from UW-Whitewater and University of St. Thomas.
He spent five years as technology education teacher and vocational coordinator in the Wisconsin Dells School District before making the move to Burlington.
At the time, school technology was at its infancy.
“There has been a lot of advances in the technology we use, there has been a lot of change in the curriculum and instruction that we do,” he said. “When I first got here, we didn’t have standardized state assessments.”
Locally, the district faced a series of challenges, including a deficit in the mid-1990s.
Smet, who became assistant superintendent-business services, remembered tackling the deficit and said he worked diligently to resolve the financial shortcomings.
“There was a financial deficit situation, where the ledger was overspent over a few year, that is when I became business manager and shored up that financial situation in the 1990s,” he recalled.
Along with financial hurdles, facilities were another obstacle, considering the district looked to build a new high school and middle school.
The new buildings, according to Smet, became a challenging task for school officials to present to taxpayers.
“Passing the referendum for the new high school, that was a very controversial topic at that time,” he said. “In 1997, we passed the referendum for the new high school and Winkler building.”
Last November, the district passed a referendum to finance a new Karcher Middle School and upgrade other facilities, which Smet said gives the district a positive outlook for the future.
“Our academics are in good shape, our facilities will be in good shape, so I am very proud of those,” he said. “They are all ready to go for the new superintendent.”
To read the entire story see the June 20 edition of the Burlington Standard Press.
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