Come June 1, Bob Utter is going to have plenty of time to hone his backswing.

“I like to play golf,” Utter said. “I have a lot of projects around the house and I want to get my golf handicap under 10. I play a lot, probably four times a week in the summer.”

Utter, who has been the athletic director at Waite High School since 1994, is retiring at the end of this school year. Waite's final day of exams is June 3, but Utter's last day on the job will be May 31.

His decision to retire after 33 years in education wasn't easy. In many ways, Toledo Public Schools made the decision for him.

The formula is somewhat complicated, but the premise is as follows: Utter, who spent five years as a math teacher and assistant coach (boys basketball, football, baseball) at Cardinal Stritch, has accumulated more than 350 sick days since he began his teaching/coaching career at Waite in 1983.

TPS and the Toledo Federation of Teachers, faced with dwindling funds, are considering cutting retirement benefits, including unused sick days – for many of its employees. That includes athletic directors.

“I don't even know if they're going to cut them back,” Utter said. “The TFT and the (school) board are in negoiations right now.”

In addition to looking into reducing the number of accumulated sick days from 370 to 120, the Board has already asked for a 10 percent pay cut for TPS teachers across the board.

Utter would rather just retire. He's not bitter, just realistic.

“The Toledo Public School district is financially strapped and they've been talking about cuts for a long time,” Utter said, adding that early retirement “wasn't in my immediate plans.”

“My wife (Lila) is a teacher at DeVeaux (Middle School) and she has three years to go,” he said. “I had planned on sticking around at Waite for a couple more years. But with the cuts, I'll be making less money and the possibility of losing that severance pay, it made sense to (retire) right now.”

Utter wanted to be a head basketball coach, and Waite gave him that opportunity in 1983. His first team won seven games.

“Waite had lost like 30-some in a row before that,” Utter said. “The first team I had, we were OK.”

Utter, who also taught math at Waite, lasted four years as the Indians' coach.

“I just know I wasn't a very good head coach,” he said. “I just couldn't get the kids to come to open gyms in the summer. It was frustrating. I resigned and joined the football staff with Jim Wasserman (and later Charlie Delker) for about 10 years.”

Utter, 55, who graduated from St. Francis de Sales in 1973 and played shortstop and second base as a scholarship player at Kent State, succeeded Bill Nopper as Waite's AD in 1994. Utter has yet to resign himself to the fact that he won't be at Waite next year.

“Whenever you do something new, you're a little bit apprehensive,” he said. “I know I'm doing the right thing. I'm still apprehensive, but I'm excited. I've lost some weight the last few months and I want to keep working on that. I want to do a lot of walking and have dinner ready for my wife when she gets home. I wouldn't call myself a cook. I do OK.”

Utter and his wife, who have been married 31 years, have raised two daughters. Jessica, 30, has spent eight years in the Marine Corps and has done two tours of duty in Iraq. Adrienne, 27, is a manager at large hotel in Chicago.

Utter said his replacement as athletic director will probably be named this week. Interviews began Tuesday. The decision will be made by Waite's athletic council, which includes four teachers and four administrators.

Utter said he will miss several things about working at Waite.

“Since 2000, we've had a good run of nine City League championships,” he said. “I'm proud of the fact we were able to win some championships as a public school in a very, very tough league. I've met a lot of my friends here, back to the early 1980s. We have some great young teachers here, and I was very lucky to be involved here at Waite with two great principals, Ric Cervantes and Dave Yenrick. Both are great guys to work with and for. They really trusted me to do my job, and that makes it a whole lot easier.

“I made a lot of great friends. Waite is still a great place to be.”

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