Dear Wildcat Nation,
You are receiving this message from me at this moment because this evening I informed the board of my intent to retire. Thank you for allowing me to serve this community for over 21 years. It has been a true honor. While almost all of my communications have been brief and to the point, especially over the last 19 months, this one will be a little longer.
I am announcing my retirement that will take place after the first of the year (2022). As I am sure many of you have felt, the past couple of years have seemed like dog years as far as work goes. Said another way, it has been like a calling a snow day every day, again and again. I am not retiring because of the last 19 months, but, if I am completely honest with you, it has certainly sped up my timeline.
Please let me share my sincere appreciation for some special people. I will begin with the Board of Education that took a chance on hiring a former technology director to be your superintendent (Jim Reis, Carol Mitchell, Mark Stepek, Dan D’Alessandro, Joyce Brasington, Mike Schweig, and Kim Shumaker). I cannot thank our current Board of Education enough (Tom Donnelly, Chad Griffith, Korey Bailey, Heather Shafer, Dan D’Alessandro, Erick Foster, and Mary Hanser). In my almost seven years as your superintendent, I have had three different board presidents (Jim Reis, Dan D’Alessandro, and Tom Donnelly). The amount of time these individuals have given to me and to the district cannot be counted. I would also like to thank our union presidents who have consistently worked together to provide a culture that is unparalleled in public education. I need to give a special shout-out to my cabinet and administrative team who make this thing we call “school” actually work and provide opportunities and educational pathways for our students only found in Oxford. I am grateful for all my teammates, past and present, that I have served with in the tech department for nearly two decades. Thank you Debbie Fox, Angela Weaver, Dani Stublensky, and Matt Johnson for your understanding, keeping me grounded and, above all, your dedication to me and our district. Thank you to all those who have prayed for me as well as our district.
Finally, I need to thank my wife, Stephanie, who has supported me, listened to me, cheered with me, and freely given me precious time away from her and our family.
Thank you, Wildcat Nation, for your trust in our Board, our administrators, all of our employees, and me by sharing your students and the education of them with us! Trust is only one of our core values, but I believe it all starts with trust.
I could not be more proud of what we have accomplished over the last seven years.
Instead of listing a bunch of numbers and stats about our amazing accomplishments, I want to let you know that I am most proud of our collaborative effort to build Team O. Since day one, the most important task to which I had to attend was building a culture of trust and appreciation not only for the welfare of our students and employees, but also for the community as a whole. It has been very challenging and required a great deal of time. While I am extremely pleased with the results of this endeavor, I also want to remind all of us how fragile the bonds of trust can be. Once they are broken, they may take years to mend; in fact, they may never heal. Team O — the students, the employees, and the community — must remain steadfast in its commitment to, and its love for, one another. We must appreciate and listen to those with whom we may not agree, for they are all our teammates. We must do everything possible to build one another up, not tear one another down (particularly behind the guise of social media). There are and always will be significant external influences over which we do not have control. However, every day we make a conscious decision to Bring our Best, Become our Best, Be kind, and have a Ball for the success of Team O. I promise you that if we continue to follow this game plan of the 4B’s, we will remain humble and compassionate, yet poised for greatness!
We are in a position to take our district to the next level; our greatest days are ahead of us and there is much work to be done. In good faith, I cannot start some of these things knowing that I will not be here to see them through. It is my intent, however, to follow our game plan with all of my effort until I cross the finish line. In the meantime, I have every confidence the School Board will work diligently to ensure a smooth transition of leadership in the months ahead.
I am looking forward to spending time with my family and friends and possibly pursuing some other opportunities. I am especially looking forward to making new memories with my three grandchildren, my children, and my parents who are all out of state, and my mother-in-law. I am sure I will continue to see many of you around town. Until then.
Once a Wildcat, always a Wildcat!
Tim Throne