Five elementary school principals at Lincoln Public Schools will retire at the end of the school year, women who have been a part of the district for a combined total of more than 280 years.
The district has seen record retirements in recent years because of the large number of baby boomers reaching retirement age, but this is a particularly big group of elementary school principals retiring.
The principals are among nine administrators retiring at the end of the school year. They include:
Pyrtle Elementary Principal Paula Baker, who has been with LPS for 30 years. She became principal of Pyrtle in 2012 and also was principal at Pershing Elementary School and coordinator at Maxey Elementary School. She taught at Zeman, Beattie, Belmont and Maxey elementary schools, and for Westside Community Schools and Millard Public Schools.
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Eastridge Elementary Principal Deb Dabbert, who has been with LPS 32 years. She became principal at Eastridge in 2009 and before that was principal of Belmont and Hawthorne elementary schools, coordinator at Brownell Elementary School, and special education coordinator at Meadow Lane Elementary School. She taught at Huntington Elementary School, Omaha Public Schools and Palmyra/Bennet Schools.
Saratoga Elementary Principal Kathy Fleming, who has been with LPS 28 years. She became principal of Saratoga in 2005, and previously was assistant principal at Saratoga and coordinator at Campbell Elementary School. She taught at McPhee Elementary School.
Pershing Elementary Principal Rhonda True, who has been with LPS more than 31 years. She became principal of Pershing Elementary School in 2012 and before that was assistant principal at Prescott Elementary School and instructional coordinator at Elliott Elementary School. She taught at Lux Middle School, and Rousseau and Sheridan elementary schools, and in Grand Island Public Schools.
Prescott Principal Ruth Ann Wylie, who has been with LPS for 50 years. She became principal at Prescott Elementary School in 2009. She also served as principal, coordinator and teacher/team leader at Riley Elementary. Wylie served as president of the Lincoln Education Association from 1991-1997. She taught at Rousseau Elementary School and what used to be Park Elementary School (now a middle school).
Other administrators retiring at the end of the school year include:
Mary Reiman, director of library services, who has been with LPS for 36 years. She has served as the director of Library Media Services at LPS since 2005. She began her career as a school librarian in Wakefield before moving to Lincoln Southeast High School as media specialist there.
Cindy Brunken, special education supervisor, who has been with LPS for 29 years. She has been the district supervisor since 2008. She also served as special education coordinator, a speech-language pathologist and reading teacher at Lux Middle School and a team leader for speech-language pathology. She also served as a speech-language pathologist at Rousseau Elementary School, Lincoln Southeast High School, and the previous Park Elementary School.
Lincoln East Athletic Director Wendy Henrichs, who has been with LPS for 20 years. She has been athletic director for Lincoln East High School since 2005 and before that was assistant athletic director and an English teacher there. She also taught and coached at Grand Island Senior High School.
Marge Theel, supervisor of health services, who has worked at LPS since 1991. She also has been a first aid instructor, team leader and medication administration certification instructor. Before coming to LPS, she was a public health nurse for the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department and a staff nurse at Bryan Memorial Hospital.