Arlee’s new school superintendent brings years of experience to the job

('07-'08)ARLEE — After a career of service in education in Alaska, John Miller came home to retire. But retirement didn’t suit him, and he gladly accepted a position as new superintendent of Arlee Schools.
Miller brings 22 years of experience to the job, where he presides over Arlee’s three schools, 80 staff members, and a budget of $2.5 million.
For a small district, it’s a big job.
Miller is the education manager for the district. The position, he said, requires you to be an “incredible problem solver, a visionary, and highly visible.”
Plus, he must be fiscally responsible for the district’s money. And, most importantly said Miller, “You have to get people to love coming to work as much as you do.”
Miller was born and raised in Missoula, and received his degree in education from the University of Montana. In 1983, he began teaching in Froid, Mont.
Froid is “almost in North Dakota,” he said. His wife Lisa, now Principal of Arlee Elementary, taught there, as well.
After two years, their superintendent moved to Alaska, and the Millers considered the possibility themselves.
“One night, we were sitting around the fire and realized we could do this in Alaska and Lisa wouldn’t have to work because the salaries were so good,” Miller said. At the time, Lisa Miller was seven months pregnant.
So the Millers moved north, landing in the small island community of Angoon. Angoon was a “dry” Klinkit village, tucked into the sea.
“It was a fabulous experience,” Miller said. “We loved it.”
“We loved the people. We got involved in their culture, we learned their language.”
After two years, necessity dictated the Millers move closer to medical services. So they “moved up north to the road system,” Miller said, to the Athabascan town of Nenana.
Nenana’s climate was extremely harsh, and after three years Miller moved his family to the outskirts of Fairbanks, where he taught, coached, and worked as an administrator.
Lisa, who had been raising the couple’s kids, returned to teaching in 1995. And in 2006, Miller retired.
“We wanted to move down here (to Western Montana),” Miller said.
“We had two kids in college down here” as well.
The couple spent a lot of time in the Jocko Valley during their job search in 2006, and both applied for the principal’s job in Arlee.
“We spent a lot of time with people and fell in love with the area,” he said. And the school “had a great reputation” for providing “a real good education” he said.
Lisa Miller was offered the principal’s job, and John accepted a position as superintendent in Stevensville.
The commute and distance from his wife did not suit him.
“We’d always worked closely together, so last year was really tough,” Miller said. “So when this became available, I was really excited.”
Miller loves his new job, and the people he works with.
“It’s been better than I anticipated,” he said. He and his wife plan to stay a long while. “We love education, and love being around the kids,” he said. Besides, Miller says, “I’m too young to retire.”