After more than a decade as captain of the Hart Public Schools (HPS) "Pirate ship," Superintendent Mark Platt plans to retire June 30.
“I’ve never had a job I didn’t like,” Platt shared. “I have mixed feelings about leaving. That’s why I know it’s the right time to leave.”
“Mark has made a significant positive impact on our school district and community over the last 13 years,” said current School Board President Jeff Schaner. “He has implemented many improvements to our organization, created a great Pirate culture, and helped develop and mentor many staff to build a great administrative team. Having his long tenure brought stability to the district, and his leadership is greatly appreciated.”
HPS was between superintendents when Platt brought his accounting degree and past experiences as a school administrator to the district. An interim superintendent was working with the board, who were in the process of conducting their own superintendent search. After what he would call 13 great years, Platt quipped, “Having a school board for a boss is like having seven wives. But I’ve been lucky. I’ve had great board members to work with, and I don’t say that lightly.”
That attitude is one of the reasons Platt has enjoyed his time at Hart.
“I have learned so much from Mr. Platt,” board member Irma Hinojosa shared. “He is a sincere and passionate person who deeply cares about all the employees, the students and their families. Being part of the board has been an absolute pleasure. He has made our district what it is today and has built a successful path for Brad Jacobs to follow.”
Looking back to 2013, when Platt was considering applying for the position, he remembers, “I attended some games and milled around downtown. I noticed there were five banks. I thought to myself, ‘Clearly there is something here.’
When the Platts purchased a house in Hart, the community took notice. “For the first year I drove back and forth. My daughter was a senior, and I didn’t want to disrupt that. But we did buy a house and ended up moving in during spring break the following year. For a while we had two houses! (Living in the community) is important. There’s a certain amount of goodwill generated when you’re doing business where you live.”
“In my opinion, Mark has redefined what a superintendent means to a school. I think everyone that has attended HPS in the last 13 years knows who Mark is. He has been a very visible person in the district,” Board Member Chad Coker reflected. “When it came to new ideas, Mark was always eager to get on board. Whether it was starting a robotics club or making sporting events more spirit-filled (flashing lights at basketball games or pirate ship cannons at football games), if it was to fire up the students and the community, Mark would say, ‘lets do it.' When the possibility of switching athletic conferences surfaced, Mark stood firm. We made the athletic director position full-time, gave our students the equipment and opportunities the bigger schools had, and within a few years Hart was a dominant force in every category of athletics. No one was prouder than Mark when Hart made the football playoffs for the first time and we won the home playoff game.”
By 2015, Platt had already begun working on his first bond issue to completely renovate and update the high school building. After months of publicity, communication and encouraging 18-year-old students to register to vote, the district successfully passed the first successful bond measure since 1995.
“We won by five votes,” said Platt. “Construction began the day school let out the following June. It was a busy time. We opened the 2016-17 school year with temporary walls as construction continued. It was a hot mess.”
“I joined the board in February 2020, ever since I’ve found Mark to be a calming, steadfast leader for our district,” Board Member Steve Riley said. “The superintendent is one of the most public jobs in a community. The decisions they make affect many people and are open to public scrutiny. They are held to a high standard by the community, their staff, and the board of education. Even when they are not ‘on the job,' they are still on the job. There is very little time to decompress and relax. Many will never know all the behind-the-scenes activities, meetings and actions he did that kept things running smoothly.”
With the Sinking Fund millage renewal in May of 2025, renovations set to begin this summer will include upgrades to the district’s central business office, a partial new roof at the high school and some necessary mechanical upgrades at the middle school. After the 2026 football season, renovations will begin at the football stadium. Then in 2027, the oldest wing at Spitler Elementary will receive a facelift.
Board of Education Secretary Andy Carter shared, “The two sayings that I attribute to Mark are 'I've been in this business long enough to know’ and ‘With that being said.' I always knew that following either of those two statements, there was something profound about to be shared!”
Platt would say one of his greatest strengths while on the job has been as a communicator. However, he quickly admits that there needs to be a balance between seeking to understand and trying to be understood. “I brought experiences from other districts. I knew what success looked like in those other districts and believed Hart could be successful. I think we have achieved that, and while that is good for Hart, it is also good for Oceana County. Everyone should want their schools to be successful. You will not find a vibrant community or economy in an educational desert. It has been great watching all the local schools push hard and create some great schools. Now we are seeing tremendous efforts in the townships, cities and villages.”
When Mark Platt started 13 years ago, he hit the ground running,” said Phil DeBrot, who heads HPS Technology. “Everything from registering a brand-new pirate logo, helping bring high-speed broadband internet to Oceana County for remote learning, establishing full Google usage district-wide, starting One-to-One Chromebooks at the high school, going for bond projects to improve our district and much more. If you Google the word 'initiative,' you’ll see, ‘Initiative is the ability to assess and act independently, often taking the first step to start a project or solve a problem without being told.’ That's 100 percent Mark Platt. He is a true leader, a dear friend and will be greatly missed in the district.”
“I never anticipated we’d be here for 13 years,” he said. The whole family embraced their new community, Platt shared proudly. His son Braxton served on city council before he was married, and his daughter Selina and her family lived in Hart for a time. His wife Vicki reigned as Mrs. Asparagus in 2017 before joining the city council, where she would eventually serve two terms as mayor.
“Mark’s retirement is bittersweet. He has had a long and distinguished career at Hart Public Schools, and we can’t thank him enough for setting a high standard that we will continue improving on,” said Executive Assistant of Administrative Affairs Kelli Campagna.
“And that’s coming from a Tiger,” she quipped.
Platt shared one of the most rewarding highlights of his tenure, which is his involvement in helping to bring West Shore Community College to Hart. “It was a joint effort with Vicki. We were very involved in the early stages. Vicki had found the grant when she was the mayor, and I had been discussing this topic with Dr. Ward from WSCC. A lot of work has been done by others since then, but in the very beginning, it was Vicki and me working with a small group of people.”
“It has been a joy and honor to have worked for Mark over the past 13 years. I have appreciated his love for our district and how he always made us a priority. He will be missed,” Hart Middle School Principal Kevin Ackley said.
Platt has already begun working with Hart’s new superintendent, Brad Jacobs, slowly passing off more and more responsibility as June 30 approaches. “Onboarding Brad is going well. I’m enjoying working with him.”
In retirement, Platt says he is looking forward to spending more time with family, including his two young grandchildren, as well as his all-time favorite hobby, fishing. You’ll no doubt find him in the stands at future sporting events, and he’ll still have a huge tub of candy ready for any trick-or-treater who stops by on Halloween.
His final words of advice are, “Always be yourself, unless you can be a Pirate, then be a Pirate.”
"Thank you, Mr. Platt. Hart Public Schools is better because of you. We wish you well. We will do our best to make you proud," retired Hart Public Schools Secretary Sharon Hallack said.
