Thompson Falls Schools welcomes Scully, Schrock
When students return to school in Thompson Falls in a little more than three months, they will be greeted by a new superintendent and high school principal.
Recently, the school board finalized its hiring of superintendent Bud Scully and Dan Schrock as next year’s high school principal.
Both men, particularly Scully, bring several decades of experience to their respective positions.
Scully comes to Thompson Falls from Florence-Carlton School in Southwest Montana where he served as superintendent. Scully also has education/administrative experience in both Arizona and California.
Scully came to Montana in 2014 when he took over as superintendent for Florence-Carlton. With six years there, Scully has 41 years in education.
Scully moved to Montana from Mohave Valley, Arizona, where he was the principal of River Valley High School.
He has also served as principal at Mohave Valley Junior High in Mohave Valley, principal of Needles Middle School, vice principal of Needles High School in
Needles, California, and superintendent of Bicentennial Union High School District in Salome, Arizona.
Scully has taught Physics, Chemistry, Biology, PE, Health, Driver’s Education, Government, Economics, and Media Technology. Scully also has been a counselor, athletic director, coached baseball, football, basketball, and wrestling over his 40 years in education.
Scully holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Secondary Education and Physical Education from the University of Denver, a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership from Northern Arizona University, and a Master of Teaching Degree in Physical Science from Northern Arizona University.
When he retired from River Valley High School in 2014, he was honored by the Board of Education when they named the varsity baseball field Edward “Bud” Scully Field.
Scully and his wife Laurie will celebrate their 25th anniversary this year and they have three sons, Tyler, Jacob and Andrew.
Two of those boys are still in college and one of Scully’s motivations for continuing to work.
“I still love what I’m doing and I plan on working another 10 years, but helping put the boys through college and keeping them insured are part of the reason, too,” Scully said.
Scully said he first heard about Thompson Falls a decade ago from one of his former teachers.
“He told me what a great community it was and when the job came open I was excited to apply for it and I’m excited to be there,” Scully said.
Scully said his first two goals are to figure out how to get students back into school, but if COVID-19 isssues prevent it, how to make sure technological demands are met, whether students are learning in or out of school.
“Secondly, I want to do more to share and celebrate what great things are going on in the school,” Scully said.
Schrock is currently the interim Superintendent of the Seeley Lake Elementary School District in Seeley Lake, Montana. Prior to moving to Seeley Lake, he had the responsibilities of serving as both the Superintendent and K-12 Principal of Ekalaka, Montana from 2016-19.
Schrock previously served as the Dean of Students and Activities Director in Dillingham, Alaska. Schrock holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Secondary Education from Northern Michigan University and a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership from Montana State University.
“I feel like I can have a good impact here,” Schrock said. “I’m also looking forward to working with a veteran superintendent and an experienced elementary principal () and the entire staff. I’ve had to work as a superintendent and principal before and doing both jobs is very challenging so working with a team is something I look forward to doing.”
Schrock’s desire to remain in Montana is in part due to the fact his oldest daughter and brothers live in state.
“Having family here and wanting to be near them is important for me,” Schrock added.
The tradition at Thompson Falls is another thing which has impressed Schrock.
