Lexington County School District 1 Superintendent Greg Little said he’s leaving a very good job.

“I love it,” he said of his work with the school district, which he says “is one of the best in the country.” 

Speaking with the Chronicle, Little looked back on his past six years with great satisfaction as ked forward to joining the S.C. Technical College System as vice president of strategic partnerships and innovation.

Little said he is pleased his family will stay in his hometown of Lexington after the job change. His daughter will continue attending a District 1 high school.[

As he prepares to depart on June 30, the district — among the fastest-growing in the state, with more than 27,000 students (according to the latest student headcount from the state Department of Education) — looks to finalize a budget for the 2022-23 school year. The current proposal is scheduled for final reading June 14.

Little said his top priority for the budget is implementing strategies for teacher recruitment and retention at a time when the district is seeing more vacancies.

The proposed 2022–23 general fund budget of $325,808,206 marks an increase of about 3% over the current operating budget of $314,635,616.

The new budget provides all employees with a step increase. The beginning teacher salary schedule will go up from $37,844 to $41,410. The budget expands bonuses for substitute teachers.

The proposed budget provides support for additional instructional intervention for students, enhanced safety and security measures, and a standalone site for the Lexington 1 Online Learning Academy and The College Center.

Little said he is very pleased that there has been no millage increase for taxpayers during the past four years.

Looking back on the past six years, Little said a major achievement was the creation of a dual enrollment program that enables high school students to actually earn college credits in high school as they prepare for the future.

The superintendent said his motivation for a career change was the availability of a higher education job in modern-day technology innovations. So much is happening with new trends in technology, he explained, such as self-driving cars and task-performing robots.

“The time was right,” Little said.