Three more retirements at Fredonia schools
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The list of longtime Fredonia Central School District members to call this school year their last got a little bit longer after the most recent Board of Education meeting.
The district recently accepted three more resignations for the purpose of retirement at the recent meeting. The three latest retirements were special education teacher Geraldine Workoff, cleaner Diane Snyder, and cleaner John Crane.
Workoff served the district for 22 years. "I've known her for all 22 of her years here at the district. She always puts kids first," said Fredonia High School Principal Darrin Paschke.
"It's been a pleasure to get to know her," Zilliox said. "She does a great job for us and for the students, but also isn't afraid to share her opinion ... and be respectfully direct about her communications.
That's appreciated, because you get into discussions and you're not sure exactly where people are, but with (Workoff) you always knew where she stood and her thoughts behind it."
Paschke appreciated Zilliox's depiction of Workoff. "She lets you know exactly how she feels, and that is appreciated. Whether she ends up in a position at the end of the discussion where she gets what she was asking for or not, she was always respectful and always kept it about the kids -- which made it very easy, even if we didn't always agree on something, we knew that she was always coming from a place in her heart where she thought it was best for kids," Paschke said. "We appreciate everything that she's done for our district and I'm really going to be sad to see her go. She's been a staple here for a very long time."
"She's been dedicated to our department," Director of Special Education Kristen Ferro added. "She keeps her sense of humor, even when there's pressure. I wish her all the best in retirement."
Snyder served the district for three years. Zilliox called Snyder hard-working, and also noted she was "Enjoyable, but also -- in moments -- direct, in a positive, polite, friendly way."
"I appreciated getting to know her," Zilliox added.
Crane served the district for 15 years. Zilliox characterized him as "a pleasant employee that was more than willing to do whatever was needed to be done every day to make things work and put people in a position to be able to do their job."
"He's just a kind person who goes out of his way to do nice things for people," added Margie Wright, Chief Officer for Curriculum and Human Resources at Fredonia.
Crane's letter of resignation was appreciated by the Board of Education for its direct, humorous manner. Crane referred to himself as "being now of unsound mind and body" and called his "servitude, I mean service or whatever ... a real treat." His letter concluded with, "I hope I was important in the life of a child."
"I wish I had resigned from my last job that way," Board of Education member Aaron Marshall said.
"New hashtag: #ResignLikeJohn," Wright joked.