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Schools' George Balas To 'hang Up Spurs'

Schools' George Balas To 'hang Up Spurs' image
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When the fiscal year ends June 30 for the Ann Arbor Public Schools, an era will end, too. ' George Balas, colorful business manager of the public schools and secretary of the Board of Education since 1948, announced last night he will retire that day. School Supt. W. Scott Westerman Jr., who said he will begin a search for Balas' successor, praised him last night for his "outstanding service in every respect." "It is impossible for me to express adequately my appreciation for his services over the years," Westerman declared. "We regret his departure. This is a really serious loss for us." Balas, who will celébrate his 63rd birthday Jan. 30, is not retiring because of his age. [(The Ann Arbor School District sets the year when an employé turns 65 for mandatory retirement). He simply decided several years ago, he said, that 63 would be the time to hang up the spurs. The veteran business manager is looking forward to his days of leisure. "I plan to travel, loaf, fish, garden, take pictures and attend sports events," Balas told The News. Balas is an amateur photographer who specializes in taking slides. But his first love is sports, particularly baseball. Balas and his wife, Bonnie, rarely take a vacation without visiting one - and usually several - baseball stadiums. Their holidays are carefully planned to coincide with various teams' baseball schedules. Baseball weekends, too, are planned oftr en. One favorite "circuit" of Balas and his wife, for instance, is a game in Pittsburgh on Friday night, in Baltimore or Philadelphia o n Saturday, in Washington, D.C., on Sunday and perhaps New I York on Monday. While baseball is the couple's [first love, they say they enjoy lall sports, especially games a Ithe University of Michigan They rarely miss a U-M foot Iball or basketball game, an Isee Pioneer and Huron High Iplay regularly. They returne Ithis week from Pasadena Iwhere they saw Michigan pía lin the Rose Bowl. ___ Balas and his wife plan to travel extensively after his retirement, definitely in the United States and Canada in a camper truck, and perhaps in Europe, África and Japan, too. They also plan a jaunt to the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, with a couple with whom they saw the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles. Both couples were on their lioneymoon at that Olympics 40 y'ears ago. Balas was graduated f rom Hanover College in Hanover, Ind., in 1928, where he majored in mathematics and science and was named the "best balanced" member of his class (best balanced in scholarship, civic and social mindedness and athletic participation, he hastened to explain). In 1945, he carned a mas;er's degree at Notre Dame Jniversity. Balas and his family moved to Ann Arbor in 1943. Prior to Decoming a teacher and stage- _ : l craft manager at Ann ArborJ High School in 1945, he was al civilian instructor in groundj mechanics for two years at thel Willow Run Air Base. Balas was elected secretary of the Board of Education in 1948, the same year he became business manager. As school board secretary for the past 22 years, Balas has taken "volumes" of notes which became the official Board of Education minutes. "I won't miss taking those notes," Balas joked. Balas says he has seen many changes in the Ann Arbor School System in the past 25 years. The growth of the school district in sneer numbers and problems is perhaps the biggest change. "School boards now face issues that never were issues before," Balas mused, such as civil rights and sex education. One result of this growth of problems is the length and frequency of Ann Arbor school board meetings. The tru'stees now meet nearly every week, while in Balas' earlier years with the school system, there was just one formal meeting a month. The school district also has more trouble raising money for operations and new buildings, these d a y s , Balas t h i n k s . Between 1925 and 1950, he recalled, only 4 schools now in operation were built: Northside, Pittsfield, Stone and Slauson Schools. That meant very few bonding issues. Since 1950, by comparison, 23 new schools have been built. Balas had no trouble naming his biggest tribulation as business manager during the past 22 years: "It was running the school bus system. There's no doubt that was my biggest headache." Balas directed the school buses until 1967, when a separate transportation director was named. His outstanding m e m o r y ? "The caliber of the people with whom I've worked over the years." Balas is firmly convinced he won't become bored with retirement. "I've got too much I want to do," he declared. Besides gardening, photography and travel, he and his wife love to visit zoos and e at at famou's gourmet restaurants, and they make it a point to do both on their baseball trips. His three grandchildren also should keep him busy. And then, of course, there's baseballand other sports. Balas and his wife already have a trip planned this summer to the West Coast to visit ; all the stadiums there - the ■ only baseball stadiums in the country they've never seen.

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