- By Dan Veaner
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(left to right) Dana Robson, Karen Cole, Francesca Crannell, Mary June King 
"Dana Robson is very important to our school," Thomas said. "She is a strong advocate for children in our building. All of her help and support is very much appreciated by me, and I believe by the entire staff. She attended Heinemann University and Cal State Fullerton. She majored in Dance movement therapy. She is a certified school psychologist. She worked in California for a number of years. She also came to us from the Lansing School For Girls."
"Karen Cole attended Cornell University," Thomas told the board. "She worked there for several years in a nearby school district for twelve years. She received tenure there. She also played varsity hockey. She does a great job. She's a wonderful teacher. The last couple of year we've been challenged with enrollment numbers. She has moved effortlessly between fifth and sixth grades. She has taught social studies in sixth grade, and reading in fifth grade. When our interview committee was discussing her, they described her as literally an expert in her craft. And she is."
"Francesca Cornell comes to us from Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pittsburgh, where she studied Physics," said Thomas. "She is very close to PhD status. She's a wonderful, wonderful math teacher. Even before she received tenure she was granted the position of being the district mathematics coordinator. So you can see how well respected she is. She is a very strong leader, and an excellent triathlete in the summer months."
"I came here three and a half years ago without a school business administrator. We were in the process of a State Education Department audit," said Grimm. "I needed somebody who was smart, had a tireless work ethic, and who had a certificate in school business and understood the business. Mary June was coming right out of the classroom. I remember after having decided to have Mary June become the next business leader the lady that was doing our audit said, 'Are you crazy getting someone who has never had experience?' They were in the middle of the state audit and there were all these problems and so much work that was going to be done. I said, 'No I'm not crazy. I need somebody that's going to look at it with fresh eyes, with smart eyes, and work hard.' That was the best move I made as superintendent, because here we are three years later in a complete financial crisis as are many other districts in the state. We needed somebody who knew the business of education. She was coming out of the classroom as a veteran teacher. She is also certified in social studies, math, and business. I think the most important thing she relies on is 15 or 20 years as a restaurant manager, because many times it seems like we're at that pace in the District Office. It's amazing how far she's come in three years and we're looking forward to many more years."v7i20