The student news site of Mill Valley High School

Mill Valley News

The student news site of Mill Valley High School

Mill Valley News

The student news site of Mill Valley High School

Mill Valley News

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Former math teacher Brian Rodkey takes on new role with district

Rodkey taught math at Mill Valley for 21 years before taking district-level position
Focusing+on+the+Macbook+in+his+hand%2C+Brian+Rodkey+explains+what+he+does+in+the+mechanic+room.
By Bella McPeake
Focusing on the Macbook in his hand, Brian Rodkey explains what he does in the mechanic room.

After teaching math at Mill Valley for 21 years, Brian Rodkey moved into a new role as district energy manager.

This job consists of controlling all the HVAC systems in the district, but it doesn’t stop there. He also has to monitor all the utility expenses. These responsibilities cause his days to be anything but routine, but there are many tasks that must be completed on a more scheduled routine. 

“We have a great team of maintenance supervisors who do all the maintenance stuff, but I help notify them if I see a problem wherever and they work to fix it,” Rodkey said.

With his hand out, Brian Rodkey shows off the boiler room while explaining its functions. (By Bella McPeake)

Though much different from his 21 years of teaching, the new job isn’t all that new for him. Previously, before his teaching career, he was an electrical engineer. He did this for 10 years before jumping into the world of teaching. 

“Understanding systems and how they work, exploring problems and problem solving is a lot of what I do now, so it is kind of more related to what I did as an engineer,” Rodkey said. 

Between the world of teaching and district energy manager there are so many differences. For Rodkey, teaching had a much more solid schedule, while energy manager is much looser. 

“My day as a teacher you were locked in to that bell schedule and I’m pretty much doing the same thing everyday, which I loved for a long time. But this is so different, now I do a lot of work from home or from the different buildings that I’m in,” Rodkey said.

Being a manager comes with a lot of difficult situations with needed solutions. As of currently, the hardest problem that Rodkey has to fix was the kitchen area at De Soto High School. The room had no airflow and no return vents. In order to fix the problem Rodkey purchased panels to try to improve the airflow. This however didn’t completely fix the problem and Rodkey is still in the works of completing this project. 

Even with such a jump in careers, Rodkey does not regret the change. He does state that he misses the moments with his students, but he is loving all the new experiences he gets to have with this new venture.

MVTV reporter Mollie Smith
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About the Contributors
Kaitlyn Tracy, JAG reporter/photographer
This is sophomore Kaitlyn Tracy’s first year on the JAG Yearbook staff, she will be taking on the positions of writer and photographer. When not working on the yearbook, you can find Kaitlyn on the JV Girls Golf Team. She enjoys listening to Taylor Swift and spending time with her friends.
Bella McPeake, JAG reporter/photographer
This is sophomore Bella McPeake's first year on the JAG yearbook staff, she will be taking on the position of a photographer. When not working on the yearbook, you can find her cheering on the sidelines at football and basketball games. Outside of school she enjoys running, hanging out with her friends, listening to Zach Bryan, watching sunsets, going to church, and reading books. 

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