Bubonovich retires after 38 years at LH
Being a school district federal funds coordinator often can be complicated. But, for Carol Bubonovich, who has spent 12 years in that position for the Laurel Highlands School District, the task has become easier to manage.
Bubonovich has retired after a career spanning 38 years in the district, 26 years of which were spent as a teacher and the last 12 as federal funds/elementary curriculum coordinator.
While the initial months of the job were challenging, she quickly got the hang of it with the help of the Fayette and Greene Federal Funds Coordinators Association and federal funds coordinators Bill Wilson of the Connellsville Area School District and Marlene Juriga of the Albert Gallatin Area School District.
“They were really my teachers,” said Bubonovich.
Bubonovich, 60, and a resident of the district, said the major benefit of being either federal funds/elementary curriculum coordinator or a teacher was the same: having the chance to impact “the kids I love.”
As federal funds coordinator, she administered federal programs such as Title 1, Title II and Title V and the Safe & Drug Free Schools money, and wrote grants to acquire additional money for programs the district needed. The job went nicely with the duties of an elementary curriculum coordinator, said Bubonovich, so she was able to get the district to combine the two positions and establish her at the helm of each.
Bubonovich said her biggest accomplishment as federal funds coordinator was opening the lines of communication with teachers on different initiatives funded by grants she wished to pursue
For her replacement, Bubonovich said she hopes the new hire shares the same love and desire for the programs as she has and the willingness to serve the teachers and not dictate to them.
“You have to talk to the teachers and see what they need at their grade levels,” said Bubonovich. “They need to embrace the ideas a grant can afford.”
Throughout her 26 years of teaching, Bubonovich found that sixth grade was her niche. She said she loved watching children that age go through changes.
“One day, they would come in an talk about Barbie dolls and Legos. The next, they had a girlfriend or boyfriend for the day,” said Bubonovich.
She taught at the former Kennedy Elementary School, the district middle school and at Clark Elementary at a time when the schools were overcrowded because of high enrollment.
She wasn’t seeking the federal funds/elementary curriculum coordinator job she would hold until the end of her career, but it came to her, initially in the form of Dr. Ronald Sheba, district superintendent.
While teaching at Clark Elementary, Bubonovich saw Sheba waiting for her one morning. She said, “Uh, oh. I’m in trouble,” but learned it was good news. Sheba asked her to join district administration as coordinator of federal funds as a temporary position. Temporary until three years later the school board voted for her to stay.
She said when she told her class about her move to district administration, she and the students “cried for two days.”
To this day, Bubonovich is not ready to leave the district she loves, but has decided to retire to spend more time with her grandchildren. The Laurel Highlands School Board has decided to hold onto her knowledge and expertise by hiring her as a consultant on an as-needed basis.
Sheba said Bubonovich will be tremendously missed by the students.
“She cares about kids,” said Sheba. “As a teacher, a mother and an active member of the community, she brought a wealth of knowledge to her position. She’s truly going to be missed by me and, most of all, by the students.”
Bubonovich expects good things for the school district.
She said her peer group of teachers retiring has opened room for young teachers who are full of energy and excitement.
“These are people the kids can relate to and love,” she said.
“They are well prepared and ready to come into the classroom.”
Beverly Popson, school district director of special education, said Bubonovich taught some of the teachers entering the district this coming school year as students and could tell then they would be teachers.
“She is a good role model who instilled in those students her love of teaching and we’re seeing that now,” Popson said about her friend and co-worker of seven years.
“She has had a great impact on the lives of generations of students from her classroom days to her tenure as an administrator. Even though she doesn’t want to retire, she’s definitely made her work and should be able to feel she’s made a difference.”
Bubonovich has two sons, Jerry and Nick. Jerry and his wife, Vicki, have two children, Marcus, 8, and Kaelin, 18. Kaelin has a 9-month-old daughter, Kylee. Her son Nick and his wife, Kelly, have two children, Maggie, 4, and Riley, 2. Marcus, she said, is her biggest critic.
“My family and this school district have been my life. It’s going to be difficult for me to part,” Bubonovich said.
The current school board could decide who will replace Bubonovich at a special meeting 7:30 p.m. Monday in the district administration building.