Editorial

Closing the book on long education careers

Thursday, May 26, 2016

The persuasive power of statistics is often cast aside with the Mark Twain-popularized notion of "lies, damned lies and statistics."

And while it may be true statistics can be manipulated to support just about any weak argument, the numbers definitely aren't lying to us today as we come to the end of the 2015-16 school year.

With all four Putnam County high schools graduating today or tomorrow, you don't have to be a numerologist to understand what it means to local education to be losing 10 teachers or administrators whose collective careers add up to 370 years educating our children.

And more than 300 of those years -- 319 to be exact -- were spent in classrooms or administration offices here in Putnam County. That's 319 years here by just 10 individuals.

Yes, as the school bell rings out the year, we are losing some of the best and brightest of our educators in what has to be an unprecedented year for significant retirements.

Blame the retirement Rule of 85. Blame state legislators for making educators nervous about their futures. Blame the water if you want. But the fact is, these will be some immense shoes to fill.

Check out this list ...

At Greencastle, the retirees include:

-- Social Studies department head Glenn Hile, 37 years with the GCSC and 39 years overall.

-- Superintendent Dawn Puckett, 29 years with the corporation and 36 years overall.

-- Tzouanakis Intermediate School third-grade teacher Shana Faust, 30 years with GCSC.

-- Guidance counselor Bill Smith, 22 years at Greencastle and 44 years overall.

At North Putnam, the retirees include ...

-- Middle school language teacher Jana Brothers, 40 years.

-- Middle school social studies teacher Bill Brothers, 37 years.

-- Middle school social studies teacher Joanie Knapp, 34 years.

At South Putnam, the retirees include ....

-- Fillmore Elementary Principal Brad Hayes, 20 years at Fillmore and 34 years overall, all in Putnam County.

-- Elementary music teacher Connie Huber, 36 years at South Putnam and 42 years overall.

At Cloverdale, the major retiree is ...

-- Band and choir director/music teacher Bill Cole, 20 years at Cloverdale and 34 years overall.

Meanwhile, besides those listed above, Greencastle is also saying goodbye to Joanie Earl, who has been a school secretary for the past 24 years, first at Jones Elementary and then Deer Meadow Primary School. Earl served alongside three principals in the process -- Alan Small at Jones and the first year at Deer Meadow, followed by Gwen Morris and now Mike McHugh.

All of those years of caring and nurturing and educating cannot possibly be replaced any time soon.

To say they will be missed is obvious. To say they should be celebrated is an understatement.

The best thing we can do today is offer a huge thank-you for the countless hours 319 years of local education must comprise.

Class dismissed.