Lake Station Superintendent Thomas Cripliver is retiring after guiding the school district for 11 years, capping a 41-year career as an educator.
The school board reluctantly accepted his resignation Wednesday night with board president David Wright and member Greg Tenorio voting “no.”
Cripliver’s retirement is effective at the end of the school year in June.
“I hope you understand what a difference you made for our community with all the work you’ve done,” said Tenorio.
Cripliver led the district through rocky budget years as enrollment declined and state tax dollars dwindled. The landlocked city has little industry to support its tax base, and many taxpayers are already at the top of their tax cap.
The district has lost at least $7.4 million in its levy because of tax caps since 2019.
Cripliver successfully led two property tax referendums, including an $11 million eight-year referendum in 2024. The first one passed in 2017.
In 2023, the referendum lost by 15 votes.
“Our students lost out,” said Cripliver on that election night. “I’m disappointed for our students.”
The failure to retain the referendum had an immediate consequence.
When school resumed in August 2024, students took elearning classes two days a week because the district couldn’t afford five days of bus transportation. It triggered parents, city officials, and community members to rally behind the district.
When the school board tried again in 2024, voters backed the referendum and full bus service resumed later in November.
“Without the support of the school board, nothing that I could have done was possible,” Cripliver said at Wednesday’s meeting.
“It really has been a true labor of love,” said Cripliver, who grew up in Lake Station and graduated from Edison High School. His first job was teaching for six years in Lake Station.
His career took him to districts in Elkhart, Rockford, Ill., and River Forest before returning to Lake Station.
He credited sixth-grade teacher Fred Calloway and high school government teacher James Cosgrove for influencing him to become an educator.
“It’s a privilege to come back to my school district, my hometown and school that did so much for me,” he said.
Assistant Superintendent Christine Pepa praised Cripliver’s leadership.
“We have been through a lot of challenges and some tremendous celebrations,” she said.
“Through your mentorship, not only am I a better administrator, I’m a better person. You deserve sunshine and tee times.”
The school board will now launch a search for its next superintendent. No details on the search were immediately available.
Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
