Retirement approaches for many long-time school employees

Several new faces will be replacing long time employees in Bourbon County education facilities for next year.

Seven employees of USD 234 are retiring, while there is one retiree at USD 235.Tom Davis, Kent Gant, Veda Gulick, Linda Jackson, Ruby Keith, Sheretta Parsons, and Tom Restivo are all retiring from Fort Scott.

Mary Lou Johnson

For USD 235, Mary Lou Johnson, long time cook is hanging up her apron. Johnson has been a cook for 25 years in the school district and said she is "looking forward to no alarm clock", but the best part of the job for her was "the kids." People may not know that being a cook is "hard work," she said. Johnson's hometown is Fort Scott. Her family is comprised of her daughter and son-in-law, Malinda and Jim Lambert and family and son, Ryan and Renna Johnson and family.

Tom Davis

Tom W. Davis is retiring as Fort Scott Middle School teacher/athletic director. He has had a 44 year career as an educator in Fort Scott, Nickerson, Neodesha, Hesston, Mound City and Nevada, Mo., with 28 of those years at USD 234. For him, the best part of his job "is watching countless young folks mature into fully functioning citizens, many of which now provide goods or services for us," he said. "Challenges in the educational arena have evolved over time. However, the basic challenges of getting students to be real students instead of just attenders and getting them to be responsible for their own actions have always been paramount to me."

Davis said he has strived for excellence in his teaching career.

"I have always tried to have the best Monday or Tuesday, etc. that I have ever had and to keep on pushing for excellence in everything I am involved with. Sometimes there were folks that may have thought I was too 'over the top' with what my commitment and focus was all about. But I dedicated myself to striving to reach higher than what some may have thought my limitations actually were. Maybe I overachieved but hopefully the students benefitted everywhere I touched. That was my dominant mission," Davis said.

Fort Scott is his hometown and his family is comprised of Cindy, his wife; son, Matt Davis; daughters, Heather Davis and Erica Kramer.

Ruby Keith

Ruby Keith has been a bus driver for USD 234 since 2003.

She started out in this field because of her daughter.

"My daughter drove a bus when my granddaughter was six months old. When Samantha was old enough to ride the bus with her mom I decided I would drive. I knew Mike Wunderly from our childhood, he was the bus supervisor at the time. And my husband has farmed for years and the bus worked with his farming. It just seemed to be the perfect job for me," she said.

The best part of her job has been "the hours, and getting off the summer months. I love all the kids and have enjoyed getting to watch them grow from year to year," she said.

Along the way, there have been a few challenges.

"You always have parents who complain or children who act up but that is just something you have to deal with," she said.

One thing the public may not know about driving a bus,"is that there is always a need for bus drivers or sub drivers. It's the perfect job if you have children still in school."

Keith was raised in Devon and has one brother and three sisters. She herself has nine children, 18 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

She says she has been battling cancer for three years.

"They told me I had three weeks to live. It's been three years," she said.

Kent Gant

Gant is retiring as Fort Scott High School math instructor.

"I've been teaching high school math for the past 26 years.The last 21 of those years have been here at Fort Scott High School," he said.

He came to USD 234 through a recommendation.

"My wife and I were recommended as teachers by a former USD 234 administrator. We have been fortunate to be able to teach in the same district," he said.

"The best part of my job is working with kids and watching them grow and mature. (The challenges have been) the constantly changing state requirements can sometimes be overwhelming for all of us," he said.

Gant is originally from Council Grove. He is married to Kris Gant and they have three children, Rachel, Ryan and Andrew.

Veda Gulick

Veda Gulick is the middle school kitchen manager and has been employed by USD 234 for 10 years. She started as a cook, then ticket clerk, then kitchen manager for three years after the mailroom at Great West closed in 2004.

"I have always worked hard trying to make sure that we have good food for the kids to eat and that they are getting served on time and the biggest challenge is making sure that every week that I get everything ordered and it gets prepared on time for the kids before they come to lunch," she said.

She is originally from Miller, Mo. but has lived here for 27 years.

Her husband is Don Gulick. They have two children, Darin Gulick, Baxter Springs and Carrie Allen, Fort Scott and three grandchildren.

Gulick was out of town the day the group photo of retirees was taken.

Linda Jackson

Linda Jackson is retiring as the Gifted Educator at USD 234, where she has worked for 25 years. She has worked 30 years, total, as a public educator, K-12 and five years in a private school. She has taught in Iowa and Texas besides Kansas. Her hometown is Winfield and she received her Bachelors and Masters from Kansas State University and gifted certification from Emporia State University, along with certification in Reading Recovery from Jones Institute at ESU.

"Working for USD 234 was exciting, challenging, and interesting," said Jackson of teaching.

Sheretta Parsons

Paraeducator, Sheretta Parson, has worked three years part time, 22 years full time at USD 234.

"I began my career with USD 234 as a substitute bus driver before starting full time," she said.

Being able to help students to accomplish their goals was the best part of her job for Parsons.

Her hometown is Fort Scott and she has been married to Wayne L. Parsons for 35 years.

"We have two daughters, two son-in-laws, four granddaughters, one grandson and expecting our sixth grandchild in November," she said.

Tom Restivo did not reply to efforts to contact him for the interview.