Former Portland Public Schools Superintendent Emmanuel “Manny” Caulk, who left the district in 2015 to take a job in Kentucky, has died at age 49.

Caulk served as Portland superintendent from 2012 to 2015, at which point he accepted a job as superintendent for Fayette County Public Schools in Kentucky, a system with about 42,000 students and the state’s second largest district.

“The Fayette County Public Schools community mourns the loss of our ‘Servant Superintendent’ Emmanuel ‘Manny’ Caulk, who has led the district since 2015,” the district said in a statement on its website. “A champion for children and a warrior for social justice, Manny spent his lifetime opening doors of access and opportunity for others.”

Caulk died Friday after a short medical leave, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader. He had previously undergone an 18-hour operation to remove a malignant tumor from his sinus cavity in 2015, shortly after he was hired in Kentucky.

“Portland Public Schools is very grateful for former Superintendent Emmanuel Caulk’s dedication and service and extends its deepest sympathies to his family,” the Portland school district said in a Facebook post Saturday.

Prior to his arrival in Maine, Caulk held assistant superintendent positions in Philadelphia and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He also held several other jobs in education, including as a teacher at a juvenile detention center and principal, and practiced law as an education attorney and assistant prosecutor in New Jersey.

Current and former school board members in Portland remembered Caulk as a champion for students and someone who was very involved in the community.

School board member Sarah Thompson, who chaired the superintendent search committee in 2012, recalled being impressed when Caulk came for his interview with a duffle bag of education books. “He was so excited to tell us about this book and that,” she said. “He was a voracious reader.”

In his wallet, Thompson said Caulk carried a report card from his sixth-grade teacher, who made a difference in his life and was one reason he wanted to get into education. “We certainly appreciate everything he did for Portland schools,” Thompson said. “We’re better because of him and we send our condolences to his family.”

During his time in Portland, Caulk was known for working to boost community outreach, improve the metrics to measure student achievement and for bringing innovative ideas. The launch of Maine’s only Spanish immersion program at Lyseth Elementary School came under his watch, as well as the addition of an Arabic language class at Deering High School.

Another idea of Caulk’s was to start offering virtual classes so the district could better compete with a newly opened virtual charter school. The plan was scrapped, however, after the city’s then-mayor voiced opposition and the state education commissioner warned of financial implications.

“Unfortunately the board did not pass that idea but looking back that would have been pretty amazing to have right now with all the COVID work we’ve had to do with kids being online,” said board member Marnie Morrione.

Caulk was known for his work to create new ties to the business community and improve community outreach. City Councilor Pious Ali, a former school board member, remembered him as an “open-minded partner” and someone who put the needs of students and their families at the front of his work.

“I respected his work,” Ali said. “He put the welfare of students and their families at the front of everything he did. It’s a big loss to the education community everywhere.”

Caulk also faced significant budget challenges during his time in Portland, in part driven by a shift in teacher retirement costs from the state to local districts. By the time Caulk left in 2015, though, Portland schools were operating on a $103 million annual budget, up about $9 million from when he started.

Thompson said the budget increase was the result of partnerships Caulk built with City Hall and the business community. “People trusted him and so he was able to pass some of the largest budget increases ever,” she said.

Thompson said the board was sad to see Caulk leave in 2015 shortly after he got married. “He was young and upcoming,” she said. “We knew we would be lucky to hold on to him for three years.”

In 2019, Caulk was named the Kentucky Superintendent of the Year. Tributes poured out on social media over the weekend from educators and officials there, including from Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, who wrote on Twitter that Caulk was a “tireless advocate for education and helping our children reach their full potential.”

“Fayette County Superintendent Manny Caulk gave his professional life to serving communities & was a tireless advocate for all children and young people,” wrote Kentucky Commissioner of Education Jason Glass in another tweet. “We honor him & our deepest condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues.”

Laurie Davis, who chaired the Portland school board’s finance committee during Caulk’s tenure, extended her sympathies to his district in Kentucky. She said she was disappointed to see Caulk leave in 2015, but understood the draw of going to a larger district.

“He brought a national lens to some of our thinking and work,” Davis said. “We had some fantastic superintendents with backgrounds in Maine and experience in Maine and others who struggled with ways Portland is changing. I think Manny understood that and was dedicated to making a difference to students. He really lived and breathed that challenge and knew what happens in schools can change the trajectory of a student’s life.”

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