In the spring of 1889, Reid was appointed president of the College of Montana, a Presbyterian college in Deer Lodge, Montana. He also served as the pastor of the Prebysterian Church in the town. He was appointed to and was the first president of the Montana State Council of Education, serving from 1891 to 1894. He was elected president of the Montana State Teachers' Association (now MEA-MFT) in 1894, and served on the Montana State Board of Education for three years.