[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 71 (Monday, May 23, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E925]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO MICHAEL LINGO

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. KEVIN McCARTHY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, May 23, 2011

  Mr. McCARTHY of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor 
Michael Lingo, who is retiring as Superintendent of the Bakersfield 
City School District (BCSD) in Bakersfield, California. Mike has been 
an education leader in the district for 41 years and has spent the last 
5 years as Superintendent of BCSD, the largest non-unified pre-
kindergarten through eighth-grade district in California.
  Mike grew up in Bakersfield and was educated in the community where 
he now works. He attended Horace Mann Elementary, Sierra Junior High, 
East High, and Bakersfield College. He finished his college education 
at California State University, Fresno. After graduating, he returned 
to Bakersfield and started teaching in BCSD in 1970.
  After 20 years of teaching, Mike shifted his career and began his 
service in school administration. He served as the Supervisor of 
Employer-Employee Relations for BCSD in 1990. Then in 1995, he became 
Director of Personnel Services. In 2000, he was again promoted to 
Assistant Superintendent of Business Services. In this role, he oversaw 
all of the financial and services aspects that the district performs on 
top of pupil instruction. Mike became Superintendent in 2006.
  Many of his coworkers have expressed appreciation for Mike's 
leadership at a time when the school district has seen budget cuts year 
after year. Yet during Mike's time as superintendent, the district's 
academic performance index score rose from 643 to 688, a testament to 
his leadership and the hard work of the teachers, students, and parents 
in the school district. In addition, BCSD was the first major district 
in California to implement Learning Village, an online curriculum 
system.
  Dedicated to education on multiple levels, Mike's retirement will 
leave big shoes to fill at BCSD. The Bakersfield community and I 
commend his service to the thousands of BCSD students over four decades 
and we hope that Mike enjoys his transition into the next chapter of 
his life.

                          ____________________