Through the Years

Courtesy photo

+ Enlarge

Kate Bills

SALT LAKE CITY — In her 36 years at Judge Memorial Catholic High School, Kate Bills taught every math class in the curriculum except for AP statistics. Along the way, she also served as vice principal for 18 years and as interim principal for one year.

“What I find interesting about my career path is I never applied for an administrative position. Ever. I was appointed,” said Bills, who graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in mechanical engineering and worked in the aerospace industry for six years before starting her family.

“I could not figure out how to do that job and be a mom, so I was a stay-at-home for a few years,” she said.

When the oldest of her three children was 5 she began to think about returning to the work force, but “I knew going back to engineering wasn’t an option,” because that job required frequent travel and she wanted to be present for her children, she said.

Her father suggested that she would be a great teacher, so she returned to school, earning a major in math with a minor in chemistry and physics from Utah State University. Although certified to teach all three subjects, “I just gravitated to the math,” she said. “I felt like it was one of those vehicles where, if kids had a really good math background, they could major in anything they wanted to.”

Two friends suggested that she apply at JMCHS, where she was hired to teach math part-time. Under Jim Yerkovich, who was the academic vice principal, she also did the administrative tasks of accreditation and scheduling. Then, as assistant principal under Rick Bartman, she added curriculum and teacher training. Eventually, she asked to return to fulltime teaching because the administrative work got to be too much, she said.

“I’m in it for the relationships and the ‘aha’ moments, and the kids when they get it and they’re excited about learning new things and they’re excited when they’re challenged,” she said.

She had a year off from being an administrator, “then I got a call from the bishop who said, ‘I’d like to meet with you.’”  

In the meeting, the Most Rev. John C. Wester, ninth Bishop of Salt Lake City, asked her to serve as interim principal while the diocese searched for Bartman’s replacement. After talking the decision over with her husband and praying about it, she accepted the position, but made it clear that she was not interested in it as a long-term goal.

“I went into teaching to be a teacher,” she said.

However, “having been assistant principal I had a really good perspective of where we were and what was going on,” she said.

Still, she learned a lot. For example, “Every time we turn on the field lights, it’s $1,000 an hour,” she said.

Among her achievements during her year as interim principal was replacing the boiler, which cost about a quarter of a million dollars, and putting aside money to install internet fiber on the campus, she said.

Being principal meant long days, she said; she went to all the student activities from theater productions to athletic games, “because the kids need to know that they’re supported.”

Looking back on her years at Judge, she said, “I think of my kids as my kids, and they will always be my kids whether I see them again or not. And I hope that there’s a legacy there, that they know that I loved them and cared about them and wanted what was best for them, and I’m just so grateful to have had a snippet of their life.”

In addition, many of the school’s staff spend their careers at Judge. “They bring their talents, they bring their vast abilities and knowledge, and all with that desire to share it, and so that has been huge. That is a big part of why I’ve stayed as well,” she said.

“It’s just time” to retire, she said, adding that she is looking forward to vacationing with her husband, spending time with her four grandchildren and volunteering with Meals on Wheels.