Twenty more employees have been approved to retire following the May 14 meeting of the Limestone County Board of Education.

In total, 52 employees have been approved for retirement since August, including one principal and 27 teachers. Some have more than 30 years of experience in education.

Each of the five employees who spoke with The News Courier on Friday said they will miss the students.

“One hundred percent, the thing I will miss the most is the kids,” said Amy Hall, a teacher at Blue Springs Elementary School. “They are the reason I became a teacher and the reason it was so hard to leave.”

Hall said she taught preschool, kindergarten, second grade and third grade over the last 28 years, 25 of which were with Limestone County Schools. She said her mother, who taught in the Athens City Schools district, said she would know when the time was right to retire.

“As usual, Mom was right,” Hall said. “I just knew.”

Terri Tiemann, a teacher at Cedar Hill Elementary, is also the child of a teacher. She received similar advice.

“When (my mom) retired, I asked her how she knew she was ready to retire,” Tiemann said. “Her response was, ‘You’ll know when it’s time.'”

In addition to missing students, LCBOE employees said they would miss their co-workers and students’ families.

“Working in the school system has been my first and only full-time job,” Suzanne Bates, a counselor at Sugar Creek Elementary, said. “I will definitely miss seeing my school family every day.”

Bates said she began working for the district as a sixth grade teacher at Piney Chapel Elementary in 1990.

What’s next

Many of the teachers already have plans for after their retirements go into effect.

“I am looking forward to spending more time with my family, being involved more in church work and traveling,” said Melba O’Connell, a counselor’s assistant at West Limestone High.

Hall said she is looking forward to “being a mom to my three girls and not a ‘teacher-mom.'”

“I plan to read the large stack of books I have collected, reconnecting with friends, writing some and just resting for a while,” she said.

Stephanie Gilbert, who teaches with Hall at Blue Springs, also said she is planning for more quality time with friends and family. Tiemann said she looks forward to taking care of her grandchildren and traveling with her husband.

The list

Here is the full list of employees whose retirements were approved at the May 14 meeting:

• Stephanie Gilbert, Blue Springs Elementary teacher, effective June 1;

• Sandra Blankenship, Blue Springs Elementary reading specialist, effective June 1;

• Amy Hall, Blue Springs Elementary teacher, effective June 1;

• Kelley Lewter, Cedar Hill Elementary assistant principal, effective June 1;

• Roger Cobb, Cedar Hill Elementary physical education teacher and bus driver, effective June 1;

• Terri Tiemann, Cedar Hill Elementary teacher, effective June 1;

• Terri Griffin, Creekside Elementary third-grade teacher, effective June 1;

• Anita Weaver, Creekside Elementary English language teacher, effective June 1;

• Elizabeth Turner, Creekside Elementary teacher, effective June 1;

• Alice Johnson, Creekside Primary teacher, effective June 1;

• Debra Roberts, East Limestone High teacher, effective June 1;

• Virginia Dollar, East Limestone High bus driver, effective June 1;

• Stephen Bates, Elkmont High teacher, effective June 1;

• Laurie Evans, Limestone County Career Technical Center Success Academy English teacher, effective June 1;

• Judith Blakely, Tanner High bus driver, effective June 1;

• Lisa White, West Limestone High media specialist, effective June 1;

• Melba O’Connell, West Limestone High counselor clerk, effective July 1;

• Suzanne Bates, Sugar Creek Elementary counselor, effective July 1;

• Patricia Smith, Tanner High counselor clerk, effective July 1; and

• Michele Brazeal, Elkmont High teacher, effective July 1.