Westerville Board honors Michael Hayek for 40 years of service

The Westerville Board of Education formally recognized Michael Hayek for 40 years of service to the city and schools at a recent meeting. A board member praised Hayek for 32 years on the board of trustees and for leading local efforts connecting students with employers.

The board member said Hayek played a key role overseeing the Westerville Mobility Plan, an effort to make routes to school safer through improved walking and cycling networks, and helped strengthen the Westerville Workwise collective linking the city, businesses and the district. The board member credited Hayek with sustained advocacy for local school levies and ‘‘leadership in business and economic development’’ that, the member said, helped prepare students for the workforce.

Michael Hayek responded by thanking the board and administration and saying he had recently finished and proofed a book whose proceeds will go to charity. He spoke about the personal influences behind his public service: ‘‘I think everyone in this room has a teacher or teachers that inspired them to do something,’’ he said, adding that an eighth-grade teacher inspired him to become an engineer and that his mother inspired his public service. He emphasized the role of educators: "Teachers are the front line of our children. They are heroes just like our first responders," Hayek said, and affirmed his support for the district levy, saying "it’s all about children. We have to support all the children."

No formal motions or votes were recorded during the recognition. The board’s remarks focused on Hayek’s long-running involvement with school-related planning, workforce partnerships and levy advocacy. The meeting moved on after the acknowledgement with no immediate policy actions tied to the recognition.