>> I think when I was a young administrator,
and I think I became an administrator
I believe in my late 20's.
I was perhaps 28, 29.
I don't think I really understood
what it was about.
And it took me quite a few years to actually
figure out that you're here for children.
You're here for children.
You're here to do the best
that you can for them.
Sometimes you became so worried about
state mandates and about, you know,
just doing things for parents
and teachers and everybody else
that sometimes you have a
tendency to forgetting the kids.
And as I became a more experienced
administrator,
I recognized what was really important.
And the children were so much more
important than the state mandates
and all of the other incidentals
that go along with the job.
And it's been more fulfilling
since that realization.
It's something that I was considering retirement
a few years ago, and changed my mind just
because I recognized that I
really enjoy what I'm doing.
I enjoy other people every day.
And why would I stop doing
something that I like to do?
>> What are some of the challenges
that you face?
>> One of the biggest challenges
has been in recent years, financial.
The school districts -- last year our particular
school district lost a million dollars.
And a million dollars for a small school
district such as this really was harmful.
And we cut -- we had to eliminate staff.
We eliminated programs.
Although I feel for the taxpayers, you know,
my job and our job is to educate children.
And if we don't have the funds,
then we don't have the programs.
And without the programs and the staff
to actually to supervise the programs,
it becomes really difficult to education the
children in the way that we feel like we should.
So finances I have to say has become number one.