Stephen O’Brien

Classes are back in session at Dunkirk High School next month as Principal Stephen O’Brien prepares to welcome back students one last time.

O’Brien is entering his seventh year as principal, but he won’t finish the upcoming school year out as he’s set to retire at the beginning of 2019.

“My wife retired about a year-and-a-half ago. It was kind of a mutual family decision to retire,” O’Brien told the OBSERVER in a Monday interview. “I can’t emphasize enough that it was a tough decision.”

O’Brien says it hasn’t felt like work, but rather a lifestyle as he looked back on his time spent at the district. He attributed that feeling to the people he’s worked with in Dunkirk schools over the years. O’Brien said he initially came to the school district as his one son was entering as a freshman and his other son was going into sixth grade.

Before becoming principal, he spent almost nine years as the district’s director of special education. He worked roughly four years for BOCES as a social worker, spending time in the Dunkirk school system.

Some of the rewarding aspects that O’Brien acknowledged were working with children and families. He also highlighted his involvement in Little League, soccer and Kiwanis as exciting moments. The success stories of his students, however, are one of the biggest things he looks back on.

“I tell my staff at every meeting that we work miracles every day,” he said. “We’ve pulled kids out of phases and helped get them into colleges or the armed forces. You have to look at things as statistics, but in reality when you get to work in a school these are human beings.”

O’Brien says he’s leaving something he thoroughly enjoys, and he couldn’t think of a day where he got up and thought he didn’t want to go to work. Commenting on O’Brien’s upcoming retirement, Dunkirk Schools Superintendent Dr. James Tracy said he’s done whatever it takes to ensure his students have a chance at success.

“He really cares about the kids,” Tracy said. “He could have gone sooner but he’s waiting until January, and he’s going to help us with the transition because he truly cares about Dunkirk and wants to make sure everything is working well in the school system. I commend him for that.”

The school district has several administrative vacancies to fill in lieu of departures either occurring or on the way. Last month, Business Administrator William Thiel left the district for a similar position at Frontier Central Schools. This month, the board of education not only accepted the retirement resignation of O’Brien for Jan. 4 2019, but they also accepted the retirement resignation of Marybeth Muldowney, special education director, effective Sept. 5.

Tracy said he’s in the process of interviewing for a new business official. As for replacing O’Brien in 2019, Tracy said he began by posting the opening internally.

“I’m not sure exactly where we’ll end up, but we’ll be beginning that process after school starts and the dust settles a little,” he said.