Tracy Schmidt is ready for the challenge of taking over a newly created position in the Fox C-6 School District.
Schmidt, who has been the activities director and an assistant principal at Seckman High School since 2022, has been named the district’s first chief operating officer (COO).
Superintendent Paul Fregeau said the COO position was created to replace the chief financial officer position after CFO Amy Vandevender resigned on Oct. 31.
As COO, Schmidt will oversee the Fox district’s finance, transportation, food service, maintenance, athletics and activities departments, as well as the district’s safety and security program.
“I have been in high school and college athletics for the last 26 years, and I was kind of looking for a new challenge,” said Schmidt, 48, of south St. Louis County. “I saw this opportunity and thought this is a chance for me to make more of an impact beyond Seckman. With the plan that Dr. Fregeau and his team have in place, I thought this was a good opportunity for me to join in and hopefully bring some of the success we have had at Seckman to the other schools and programs we have in the district.”
Fregeau said nine people applied for the COO position, and district officials interviewed three candidates. Then, Board of Education members voted unanimously Dec. 17 to promote Schmidt to the COO position.
He will be paid an annual salary of $145,000 when he takes over as COO on July 1. His salary this school year as activities director and assistant principal is $107,374.
Fregeau said Schmidt’s “ability to lead people, communicate with people, his drive to make Fox C-6 the best district possible, his willingness to learn and his motivation to help people succeed at their job” stood out in the interview process.
Fregeau also said Schmidt’s familiarity with the district will help him in this new job.
“One advantage an internal candidate has is the knowledge they already have of the people, strengths and opportunities to improve for the district,” Fregeau said.
Schmidt’s career started in 1999 as an assistant baseball coach at Maryville University in St. Louis County. He was the baseball team’s head coach from 2002 to 2004.
He started his teaching career in 2001 at Crystal City High School, where he taught social studies and business and was the girls basketball team’s head coach and the softball team’s assistant coach until 2002.
He then went to University City High School, where from 2002 to 2004 he was a vocational business education and social studies teacher as well as the girls basketball team’s head coach.
From 2004 to 2007, he was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the NCAA Division I women’s basketball team at Stetson University in DeLand, Fla.
Schmidt returned to the St. Louis area in 2008 when he became a vocational business education teacher at Hazelwood Central High School. He also was the school’s head baseball coach and an assistant coach for the basketball, football and soccer teams.
In 2019, he became the activities director at Hazelwood East High School, serving in that role until he was hired at Seckman High.
Schmidt said his experience in athletics as a coach and activities director has prepared him to help oversee budgets, work with a variety of people and deal with different issues.
“I want all of our district programs to be successful at the high schools, middle schools and elementary schools,” he said. “I am willing to work with a lot of people. With the positions I have had in the past, I have recruited students from all over the country. I have worked with coaches from all over the country and different programs. I have good relationships with (athletic directors) in the area. I think those experiences all help.
“The common theme in all of those jobs is communication. I feel I am a pretty good communicator. I am able to present the message, provide people with information and make it meaningful to them.”
Schmidt said it will be hard to leave Seckman High, but he feels it is in a good position.
He said he is proud of the Seckman High coaches and their programs’ recent success, and he is pleased with the athletic facility improvements at the school since he arrived in 2022.
“I think we have built something great, and I will be glad to see it continue,” he said. “We have a great staff. I think the results have appeared for themselves.”
Schmidt said he looks forward to working with more people in the district, and he plans to meet with department leaders and school principals to help develop plans for the district and each school building.
“Every building is different, and the culture in each building is different,” he said. “It will be important to meet with them (principals and department leaders) and identify their needs and tackle the immediate needs that we have across the district. We also will have bigger projects we will be working on, like facilities, maintenance, HVAC, roofing and things like that. I will be working with each director, obviously, on those issues. Safety and security is extremely important for our students and staff.
“I will take it piece by piece to see the needs of each program and department. We will prioritize our needs and figure out how to achieve our goals to make our district the best it can be.”
Schmidt is married to Kimberly, a Spanish teacher and head girls basketball coach at Windsor High School. He has a daughter, Alexis, 18, and Tracy and Kimbery have two children together, Cameron, 10, and Hadley, 7.