Dr. J. Michael McGrath, who led the Newhall School District as its superintendent from 1972 to 1997 and had an elementary school named for him following his retirement, died in his sleep Thursday night-Friday morning at his home in Valencia, according to friends of McGrath and a published notice from Eternal Valley Memorial Park. He was 83.

“Mike’s 25-year tenure as superintendent was unique in California,” Dr. Marc Winger, who succeeded McGrath as superintendent, said Saturday. “His entire career was dedicated to the Newhall School District, from substitute teacher to superintendent. His leadership affected hundreds of thousands of students and families, and I inherited a successful district largely due to his influence.”

John Michael McGrath was born March 31, 1937, in Auburn, New York, to Kenneth A. McGrath (1907-1988) and Ruth Murray McGrath (1909-2005). Kenneth and Ruth relocated their family to California by 1952. In 1959, Ruth, who had taught school in Cayuga, N.Y., was hired as a kindergarten teacher at Newhall School.

Meanwhile, son Mike was studying political science at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. He was the first was the first member of his family to attend college. In 1961 he came to Newhall to visit his mother and ended up taking a job as a substitute teacher.

“I fell in love with kids,” McGrath later explained. “The first day I substituted, I decided this was what I wanted to do.”

He never left the district. He transitioned into a full-time job at Newhall Elementary, teaching sixth grade. In 1964 he was appointed vice-principal for all Newhall District schools. At the time, that meant only Newhall School and Peachland Elementary.

That same year, on June 13, 1964, he married Dorothy Bibelheimer, a Peachland schoolteacher. The couple would become some of the first Valencia residents when the Old Orchard I tract opened in 1967. They never moved.

Mike McGrath continued his studies at Valley State College (now CSUN).  When Wiley Canyon Elementary School opened in 1966, he became its first principal. He was serving as Peachland’s principal in June 1972 when he received his doctorate degree from the University of Southern California. One month later the announcement came that he was stepping into the district’s top staff position.

Explosive Growth

It was a busy time. The school district experienced growing pangs during his tenure. Valencia was undergoing explosive growth and Stevenson Ranch was emerging west of Interstate 5. Developers donated school sites, but construction required community support for bond measures. Old Orchard had come along in 1969-70; under McGrath’s leadership, the number of campuses nearly doubled beginning with Meadows in 1976, followed by Valencia Valley in 1988 and Stevenson Ranch Elementary in 1995.

District enrollment increased from 2,300 in 1972 to 5,600 in 1997. McGrath saw two of his schools earn National Blue Ribbon awards while five earned California Distinguished School honors.

After retirement he worked as a consultant, taught classes and supervised substitute teachers from the University of LaVerne and National University.

SCVTV interview at McGrath’s home in Valencia, August 7, 2017.

In a newly released video interview, McGrath pointed to the establishment of the multi-district SCV School Food Service Agency as his greatest accomplishment as superindentent. He said his biggest challenges were population growth, as well as the state’s incessant changes to the curriculum.

He also had to deal with busing. As new schools opened during the major growth period, the school board adjusted attendance boundaries to even out enrollment across the district and reduce class sizes. That meant some of the kids who lived near a crowded school had to be bused to a less crowded school farther away from their homes where English was a second language for larger percentages of students. Angry parents frequently packed the school board meeting room in the mid-1990s.

In 2003, Newhall School District officials cut the ribbon to a brand-new campus to serve one of the area’s most diverse communities – J. Michael McGrath Elementary School in Newhall. With a current student population of 62 percent English language learners and 83 percent eligibility for free or reduced-priced lunches, McGrath Elementary has consistently exceeded standardized testing targets and has earned both California Distinguished Schools and National Blue Ribbon awards.