A Beloved Leader and Friend
"I've done very little, but we've done a lot," said Ray Massey, Jr., associate superintendent for auxiliary services. This from a man who oversaw the construction of more than 50 schools and 120 major renovation projects funded by more than $1.2 billion of school bond referendums, initiated energy conservation efforts, renewed the focus on safety, managed annual budgets of over $250 million, and touched countless lives along the way.
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Ray Massey, associate superintendent for auxiliary services, is retiring after almost 30 years of service. |
His comment reflects his selfless, humble nature and his propensity to graciously step aside and let others accept praise. Now, after close to 30 years of service, Massey is retiring.
It's in His Blood
Massey began working for Wake County Schools, January 14,
1974, but his love for helping others and interest in the
schools started much earlier. His father, Raymond Massey,
Sr., started working in the school system's Maintenance Department
in 1957. It was pretty common for Massey, Sr. to install boilers
at night or on the weekend. "It was a real adventure for me,
at age seven or eight, to get to go on a high school campus,"
said Massey. "If my dad went out at night, I went with him.
I really observed a lot over the years."
Although he did not have a high school education, the elder Massey was licensed as an electrician, HVAC technician, steamfitter, and plumber. "I probably put in enough wiring under houses with my dad to have crawled around the world," said Massey.
His interest in tools and things of that nature only grew with time. When Massey was in high school, his first summer job was in the school system's Transportation Department buying parts and picking up buses from High Point. He actually learned to drive on school buses, which were almost the size of today's CAT buses. On any given day, Massey could be seen driving one of the large buses through downtown Raleigh.
During his summer breaks from N.C. State University, Massey worked as a mechanic in the district's Maintenance Department. One of his jobs was to install walk-in freezers in cafeterias.
Strength at an Early Age
Baptized at 13 and licensed to preach in Southern Baptist
churches three years later, Massey did "a whole lot of preaching"
until he was 25. Area churches would often call on him to
fill the pulpit when their regular ministers were away.
Massey felt he did not receive a calling like many preachers and missionaries often cite, but knew his faith would remain an important part of him no matter what field of work he went into. "I know that God is looking after me, so I don't have any worries or regrets." Although he does not preach much any more, his strong faith makes him who he is and can be seen through the choices he makes.
Not only does Massey have the strength of his convictions, he has physical strength. In high school he was actually the fastest member on the football team. "I was short for my age, but I was fast. You can tell I've grown a lot since then," Massey quipped. At almost every game his coach had him try to catch the kick-off, but Massey - wearing number 22 - was responsible for a lot of fumbles.
A Rare Find
Whether we met him yesterday or almost 30 years ago, we all
know Massey is a rare find. But, there is someone who learned
that much earlier than us - his high school sweetheart. He
met his wife, Lyn, at a high school dance. "She wasn't even
supposed to be there," he mused. She was visiting from another
town and just happened to attend. It took a while to exchange
names and numbers, but they soon started dating and five years
later they were married.
Marlet, his daughter, was born four years later and his son, David, soon followed. Both children attended magnet programs in Wake County (Ligon and Enloe at one point), and both finished at East Wake High.
His daughter recently passed the bar exam, opened her own practice in Knightdale, and is getting married in September. David owns a mobile detailing business and Lyn has been with CP&L/ Progress Energy for the last 17 years. She still has a few more years before she plans to join her husband in retirement.
In the Beginning
Impressed with Massey's technical writing skills, Superintendent
Aaron Fussell hired Massey as an administrative assistant
straight out of NCSU. He graduated in December 1973, earning
a Bachelor of Science degree in technical writing and civil
engineering.
At the time, Noble Road was the headquarters for Wake County Schools, and Massey worked out of the child nutrition warehouse. Coyte Lanier was soon hired as an assistant superintendent for facilities, and Massey became known as more of a facilities technician. Helping assess the district's facilities after the merger with Raleigh City Schools, Massey compiled site drawings and floor plans into what's known today as the property accounting book. Developing a safety plan for principals and central office administrators was another challenge he tackled early in his career.
Shortly after Massey started, he hired Ronnie Whittington as a draftsman to help with the property accounting book. The small facilities staff was sufficient for the first five years or so, as there was not much growth in student enrollment and several downtown schools were closing.
Early Lesson
About a month into his first construction project - East Millbrook
Middle - Massey's boss went with him to the site. Something
didn't look quite right, so they came back later with the
architect. Turns out the steel had been set wrong, needed
to come down and be put up again.
"It got better, though," said Massey.
Whatever it Takes
Although he describes himself as someone who does not pick
things up easily, that just means he works and studies twice
as hard to stay ahead.
Massey had not been with Wake County Schools long when talk of merging with the Raleigh City Schools began to heat up. Wanting to better understand the issues, he attended the Board of Education meetings that - due to the controversy surrounding the idea - would often last until 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning.
More affluent white families were leaving the urban parts of Raleigh for the newer communities in the suburbs. Social and economic problems were becoming evident from the increasing racial divide. The boards saw merging as a tough, but logical way to bring balance. In spite of two-to-one public opposition, the two boards merged in 1976.
Another classic example of trying harder involves his determination to figure out his first computer - a Macintosh. He carried it home every night, often staying up until 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning. Not long after he mastered the Mac, the school system announced it was switching to IBM.
"I told them I wasn't switching until IBM came out with something as easy as the Mac. It wasn't long before a Mr. Gates came out with the Windows operating system. So, I might have had a little something to do with the technological revolution," Massey joked.
Thinking the district may open a mini-history museum one day, he marked the Mac, "Save for Ray Massey," and stored it in a facilities closet where it still rests today.
Replacement Schools
If you drive down the main street in Zebulon at night, you
can see one of the premier, historic school buildings all
lit up. Back in the 1980s, the school system sold the Wakelon
School (named for the Zebulon and Wakefield communities) to
Glaxo, which actually preserved the building Massey learned
in as a training facility.
Replacement schools were fairly common during the 1970s and '80s, and the 1907 Wakelon facility was replaced with Zebulon Elementary. Fuquay-Varina Elementary was replaced with a new Fuquay-Varina Elementary as well.
"It was interesting that we were actually losing kids between 1980 and 1984. The school system wasn't holding its own in the beginning. It wasn't until 1985 - about the time RTP was developing - that we started growing," said Massey.
Vivid Recollections
If you wanted to know when a boiler was replaced, what color
a classroom had been painted, or what type of plumbing fixture
was installed at a particular school, you did not need to
do extensive research - you simply asked the resident historian,
Ray Massey, Jr.
"Up to the mid-90s I could recall exactly what classrooms looked like. You get to a point where you can only retain so much information," said Massey. (Not to mention we've grown from about 250 buildings when he started, to over 450 buildings across Wake County today.)
"I tend to remember the early prototypes - such as Garner and Millbrook high schools - as they were originally designed. Building additions over the years have changed their appearance so much most people would not realize they were from the same design."
Exceeding Expectations
In 1988, as the Phase I building program was winding down,
Superintendent Bob Bridges asked Massey to become an assistant
superintendent and join the administrative cabinet.
"I told him I thought it was too early - I'd burn out. I wanted to wait until I was closer to retiring," said Massey.
But of course, he accepted the position, rose to the occasion and even exceeded expectations. By the time the Phase II building program was underway in 1992, the next superintendent, Bob Wentz, promoted him to associate superintendent for auxiliary services.
Massey spent 1992 - 2000 at the current administrative office on Wake Forest Road. During that time he managed facilities planning and construction, maintenance and operations, child nutrition services, transportation, and student assignment. (Security and safety were also in the umbrella for a time.) During those eight years WCPSS grew by over 25,000 students.
"I was the proverbial frog in boiling water," said Massey. "But, I kept things in perspective. I started every day knowing that it would come to a close, people would go home to their families, and life would go on."
Student assignment was a part of the Auxiliary Services Division when the WCPSS made the collective decision to change how students were assigned to schools. "The handwriting was on the wall. Courts were beginning to rule against race-based assignments. It was only logical to go in this direction. So, we began identifying free and reduced percentages at schools," said Massey.
Ideally, individual schools should have no more than 40 percent of its students qualify for free or reduced lunch and no more than 25 percent of students score below grade level.
During the transition from Superintendent Jim Surratt to Bill McNeal in the summer of 2000, Massey filled in as interim superintendent - as he had done on previous occasions - for about two weeks. Before Surratt left, Massey worked it out so he would move back to Rock Quarry Road and the Student Assignment and Transportation Departments would move to the Operations Division to be headed by Walt Sherlin.
"As I got closer to retirement, I wanted to come back to my roots. I've been planning my retirement since 1991, and I wanted to be back in facilities and maintenance." So, his career will end where it began, but without Massey WCPSS Auxiliary Services won't be the same.
Looking Back
Massey does not claim good decisions or triumphs as his own.
Instead, he touts team achievements - feats accomplished by
working together. "I learned very early in life that it's
not about the personal pronouns. It's 'us, we and our.'"
Clean-up efforts following Hurricanes Fran and Floyd stand out in his mind because everyone pulled together to get school back in session. "No matter what the facilities problem was, we prided ourselves on not missing instructional time."
A string of passed bond referendums was another important team victory. "By approving them the public was saying, 'we endorse what you're doing.'" Even after he retires, Massey will continue supporting school bond referendums because they help provide funding for needed repairs and new construction.
Massey said he even had the team concept in mind when he wrote and negotiated the contract with the program management firm, Heery International. He insisted that they be considered staff and be housed in the same office.
"Any person that looks back over the years has to say the relationships were most important. Even though you're proud of the buildings and what you've done for the children, relationships are what you miss when you leave," said Massey.
Superintendent McNeal agrees: "I have treasured Ray's friendship, appreciated his honesty and admired his integrity. The school system is a better place because he came this way."
Ray the Tool Man
So, what's next for Ray Massey? He'll probably take a few
months to rest and clear WCPSS out of his mind - which will
take awhile. Just last week he woke up in the middle of the
night thinking about a school issue.
A very hands-on person that loves tools and home improvement projects, Massey might help his son with his business. "I'm like Tim the Tool Man," he said. If you go to the Lowes in Knightdale on the weekend, chances are you will run into him.
If he does not replace Tim Allen or Bob Vila, then perhaps the Food Network will give him a time slot. Apparently, he knows his way around the kitchen and can bake a delicious chocolate cake with homemade butter cream icing, deep-fry turkey, cook mouth-watering collards, and loves to grill outside.
Respected Leader
Elaine Hunt, senior director for child nutrition services,
said she respects Massey more than anyone else she knows -
personally or professionally. "I admire his high ethics and
his style of leadership. He's calming instead of reactionary,
which helps you put things in perspective. When you respect
someone, you can easily follow his lead.
"Ray has always been fair. He's quiet, but supportive and genuinely cares about you. I appreciate that."