At the Tuesday, May 5, 2026 Board of Education Meeting, the District's 21 retirees were recognized for their significant contributions and more than 500 years of combined services. Service awards for 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 years were also recognized. See below for a list of all of this year's employee recognitions.
Also acknowledged during the meeting were Cherish Olayiwola, a special education
resource teacher at Mitchell Elementary, and Veronica Garcia-Martinez, 5th-grade two way dual language teacher at Littlejohn Elementary, for their Award for Meritorious Service from the Illinois State Board of Education. Ashley Carlson, the 2026 Wirtz Award for Excellence in Education recipient was also presented with her certificate.
Pictured at right: Board President Mr. Christopher Boyes with Cherish Olayiwola and Veronica Garcia Martinez.
Retirees
Jennifer Brock, Beverly Gorenz, John Hahn, Juliann Hoffman, Vicki Johnson, William Johnson, Merry Klus, Rick Kohler, Susan Kraemer, Leslie Larson, Ellen Moser, Joanne O'Malley, Tracy Paszotta, Michell Plagakis, Jeffery Potter, Sheri Shambo, Stephanie Spooner, Nacolia Stallings, Carrie Stringer, Mark Sykes, Susan Wilson.
25 Years of Service
Ruth Ann Anderson, Kelly Baer, Susan Jorgenson
20 Years of Service
Abby Aska, Christal Egel, Kathryn Farris, Jackie Pringle, Susan Gosciejew, Vicki Johnson, Emily Weller, Christine Vest, Georgia Wirth, Jennifer Dahlke-Ney
15 Years of Service
Lori Cooper, Tammy King, Lindsay Simonson, Jose Valenzuela, Emily Lundin, Sara Schneider
10 Years of Service
Alexis Ball, Shakyra Bomar, Ronna Farrell, Tatia Gibbs, Max Hiatt, Barbara Hlavin, Kristina Karkavatsos, Christopher Komos, Brenda Monroy, Jennifer Moore, Emily Phelps, Deanne Ryan, Nina Barnes, Kathryn Maley, Tracy Severino, Elizabeth Smith, Tonya Gewin, Alexander Newquist
5 years of Service
Storey Adee, Diana Baber, Evadne Bowlin, Courtney Bullock, Kathryn Ferdon, Kortney Flowers, Jacob Forbes, Charles Harden, Stephanie Jorzak, Donald King, Araceli Lopez, Sebastian Lowe, Cristopher Luna, Ashley Manor, Amanda Medine, Amanda Meyer, Jesus Monroy, Jayne Muetterties, Emily Paniagua, Alexandria Patinka, Amanda Ratliff, Kawanna Weeks, Jalisa Ticer, Anthony Tuzzolino, Eva Ellis, Christina Wagner, John Warricks, Jr., Jonathon Wright, Christina Urich
Retirees were greeted and thanked by board members and Superintendent Dr. Minerva Garcia-Sanchez.