Retirement sounded great on paper. For David White, it did not stay that way for long.
“I thought it would be blissful and easy and joyful,” the 58-year-old from Atlanta, Georgia, told CBS News. “… It wasn’t quite.”
White retired in September 2025 after 33 years in education, including the last 15 as principal at Burgess-Peterson Academy, an elementary school. During his career, he was named Principal of the Year for the entire Atlanta Public Schools district.
He said he left mostly to be free of the daily demands. But he said having so much free time got old.
“I was just hanging out with the cat, and it was a little lonely,” White said.
White said he started missing his school community. He knew he could not return as principal because the school had already hired a new one. But when another job opened up, he sent in his resume right away.
“I said, ‘Hmm, OK, that’s interesting.’ I said, ‘Absolutely, apply,'” Holly Brookins, the new principal at Burgess-Peterson, told CBS News about when White told her he planned to apply for the job.
White’s title is site manager, but he is basically the handyman. His work includes power washing bathrooms, inspecting fire extinguishers and cleaning gutters.
“Yeah, I’m one of the bottom rungs, if you look at in a hierarchical way,” White said. “… It doesn’t bother me at all… I still feel like I’m contributing meaningfully to a place I really care about.”
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