Wally Delecki, the iconic Gilbert Public Schools superintendent who led the district through the town’s most explosive growth period, died Monday at age 78 after a brief illness.
Delecki came to Gilbert in 1978 to serve as GPS assistant superintendent when the town’s population was about 5,000, the only traffic light was at Gilbert and Elliot and the district had four schools: Gilbert and Greenfield elementary schools, Gilbert Junior High and Gilbert High.
Three years later, he began a 20-year tenure as superintendent. By the end of his time, GPS had added 29 schools and the town’s population had grown to 145,000. The district’s Educator of the Year award is named after him.
