
Dr. Roach to retire from OISD
Dr. Greg Roach informed the school board at a special called meeting last week that he will retire after 11 years as superintendent of Olney Independent School District this year, Summer Branum, president of the OISD Board of Trustees, said.
Dr. Roach, who began his tenure in May 2014, informed the board of his retirement at the Jan. 21 meeting, which had been called to discuss personnel and budget matters, Mrs. Branum said. The board did not discuss Dr. Roach’s announcement that he intends to retire because the matter was not on the agenda, she said.
“He wanted an opportunity to tell the staff before they saw an item posted on the school board agenda,” she said. “Because we had this called meeting anyway it was a good opportunity for him to give us the information.”
The board planned to discuss Dr. Roach’s retirement and a succession plan at its Jan. 27 regular meeting, she said.
“This is his last full school year as superintendent,” she said. Dr. Roach intends to stay in Olney while his granddaughter, an OISD student, finishes high school, she said. He also may elect to stay on staff as a teacher or administrator to oversee the $8.5 million bond project to build new storm shelters on campus, she said. That project is set to begin in February or March, she said.
The board will begin its
Photo by Will Sadler search for a new superintendent “as soon as possible,” with the plan that Dr. Roach’s successor would begin their tenure in the fall 2025-2026 school year, she said.
The board has not yet considered or spoken with any candidates, she said.
During his tenure, Dr. Roach guided Olney ISD through major improvements to the campus and programs. He presided over remodeling of the junior high school and high school buildings and the construction of a new vocational facility.
He implemented new academic and vocational programs such as a machining/ manufacturing program in partnership with Tower Fabrication and Tower Extrusion, and broadened students’ ability to earn college credit in dual credit classes.
He saw the district through the COVID-19 pandemic, switching the campuses to remote learning in 2020, and strengthened campus security in the wake of the 2022 Uvalde school shootings.
U.S. News & World Report ranked Olney High School as one of the nation’s top high schools – 290 in Texas and 3,351 nationwide - far above schools of all sizes in the Region 9 service area.