MERRILLVILLE | Veteran school Superintendent Tony Lux on Tuesday announced his retirement from Merrillville Community School Corp. effective June 30.
Lux, 66, of Crown Point, said it's time. He has been with the Merrillville district for 29 years, 19 as superintendent.
"I'm looking for a little different balance in my life," Lux said during a School Board meeting. "I hope to stay active in respect to education, someway, somehow. I don't know what that will be yet, but the time is right for me. I think our school system is in a position of strength. I'm excited about the opportunities for our next generation of administrators."
Lux said he is especially proud of the school district's commitment to and success in demonstrating diversity can work.
"That's what we refer to as the Merrillville advantage," he said.
The board appointed Merrillville Assistant Superintendent Mark Sperling to replace Lux, effective July 1.
Merrillville School Board President Mark Lucas said the board believes it had one of the best superintendents, if not the best.
"He is extremely well-respected among his peers and among legislators in the state," Lucas said. "Tony Lux was always centered on increasing student achievement throughout the corporation, and he did an excellent job of hiring and training administrators throughout his tenure as superintendent. The best indicators of the great job he did was the fact that we had our best ISTEP scores in 2012. That's a reflection of the staff and his leadership."
Lucas said the board also is confident in Sperling's ability to lead the district, and it has been successful as a school corporation in promoting from within.
Lux has had numerous awards, honors and accolades over the years and was a teacher, coach and principal at public and parochial schools in Illinois before coming to Merrillville.
Prior to being named Merrillville superintendent in 1994, Lux served as the district's assistant superintendent for curriculum and personnel from 1984 to 1994. During Lux's tenure as superintendent, the district's ISTEP-Plus performance increased in math and in practically every student subgroup at almost every grade level.
Lux has been chosen by members of the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents twice as the District I Superintendent of the Year. District I includes Fulton, Jasper, Lake, LaPorte, Marshall, Newton, Porter, Pulaski and Starke counties.
Lux serves on a variety of boards, commissions and councils. He is a 1969 graduate of Lewis University and earned his Master of Science and doctoral degrees from Indiana State University.
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