Board honors retirees, affirms personnel consent items and approves two hires

The Middletown Area School District board recognized several longtime employees retiring after decades of service and approved a package of personnel consent items on a single voice vote.

Dr. Hunter opened a recognition segment naming retirees including Kathy Gady, who the board noted is retiring after 25 years of service as a special education and intermediate life skills teacher (most recently a learning support teacher at Rea Elementary School), and Sue Goss, who the board said has 26 years of service largely as a secretary at Reed Elementary School. “I have enjoyed every 26 years,” Goss said during the meeting. The board also acknowledged retirees not in attendance: Michelle Geppert, listed as a certified elementary school nurse with 26 years of service, and Sue Clace, who served as a kindergarten teacher for 26 years. The board recognized custodian Mike Ralph for more than 18 years of service, and those remarks included the administration's statement that the district is losing “over 121” years of service to retirement at this meeting.

Following recognitions, the board approved personnel consent items (immediate action items 8AA through 8AH) as recommended by the administration. The board also approved two candidates presented that evening: Tanya Lohman, who said she has worked with SDS for seven years and will join the district full time, and Jessica McNaughton, who will join as a life-skills teacher at the high school and described prior experience as a learning-support and Spanish teacher in Newport.

The board additionally approved a motion to hire Jara Thompson as a contracted student transportation aide for the 2025 school year as listed on the agenda. All motions on personnel items were approved by voice vote with no roll-call tallies recorded in the transcript.

Board members invited retirees to remain connected to the district; one board member encouraged them to substitute in the district if interested.