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School district bids goodbye to retirees

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Contributed by: Joseph Kirchmer/YourHub.com on 5/13/2008

Douglas County School District said goodbye to nearly 60 employees at a special retirement reception held May 8 at Rock Canyon High School.

Everyone from teachers to bus drivers enjoyed hors d'oeuvres, a chocolate fountain and an address from superintendent Jim Christensen. In all, 59 employees retired this year.

ThunderRidge High School, 1991 Wildcat Reserve Parkway, will bid farewell to music teacher Romney Philpott, who has taught at the school since 1996. He led his final concert at the school May 1.

"I've had some dreams, but it really hasn't hit me yet," he said. "I guess that will come on my last day."

Philpott, of Littleton, started his 42-year career in education in the Okemah Public School District in Oklahoma in 1966. After teaching briefly in Blythe, Calif., he came to Douglas County in 1968, where he taught at Douglas County High School.

He recalls the entire county boasted about 6,500 residents at the time he started.

"Most of the students at that time were ranch kids and shopkeepers from Sedalia and Louviers," he said. The longtime educator said the district has done a good job in focusing on the individual needs of students in the face of an exploding population.

"I think it's phenomenal that they've been able to keep a feel for the kids," he said. "That doesn't always happen when a bureaucracy sort of takes over, but I don't think they've done that here.

Philpott went on to work at several other schools around the district, including Ponderosa High School and Northridge Elementary, before he finally settled in at ThunderRidge.

Now that he's retired, Philpott intends to take the extra time to focus on his body.

"When I quit smoking in 1996, I gained 70 pounds, so I want to make weight loss my new job," he said. "Instead of being 215 pounds, I want to weigh 145 pounds."

He also plans to take a train across the country to visit family along the East Coast.

When asked what the favorite memory of his career is, he quickly answered:
"The best part of it was my first concert at Douglas County High School," he said. "My daughter yelled out 'da da' from the crowd. I even have it on tape."

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