Two of Oldsmar Elementary's most familiar faces are retiring; teacher's assistant Betty Finch Munford and physical education teacher Jim Crawford.
By JANE MADDEN WELCH
Published October 26, 2004
OLDSMAR - Betty Finch Munford remembers Aug. 17, 1967, the day she was hired by Pinellas County Schools.
"My first job was a lunch room manager at Lincoln Heights Elementary, serving students insulated hot box lunches, which were trucked over from Safety Harbor Middle School," Munford said.
Two years later, she transferred to Oldsmar Elementary, where she has remained for the last 35 years, becoming a teacher assistant in 1970. Her responsibilities since then have run the gamut. She supervises classrooms when needed, serves on numerous committees, helps out at the front office, grades papers and tutors students. In 2001, Munford was a semifinalist for the Pinellas County Schools support employee of the year. She'll retire this week.
Munford, 61, said she's seen it all over the years. She has sewn on buttons, bandaged knees, made collard greens for a birthday surprise and even improvised a makeshift belt from yarn for a student whose pants wouldn't stay up.
"You name it, there's nothing I haven't done," she said.
"Miss Betty runs everything. I can't think about (her leaving), I'll start crying." said PTA member Jean Flick, whose daughters Madison and Margaret attend Oldsmar Elementary.
Principal David Schmitt said Munford's departure would not be easy for the school. "It will be tough to fill Betty Munford's shoes, no doubt about it," he said. "She's really built a legacy here."
Schmitt originally met Munford in 1977 when he began his rookie year teaching at Oldsmar Elementary. He became principal in 1995. Munford has worked under six principals and three school superintendents.
She has lived in Oldsmar more than 40 years and is married to Aaron Munford, a pastor at Harmony Missionary Baptist Church in Pasco County. Her three children and seven grandchildren attended Oldsmar Elementary.
Munford said she worked in all her children and grandchildren's classrooms at some time. Her youngest grandchild, Leondra Brooks, is currently in third grade and her oldest daughter, Carol Weaver, works in the school's front office.
"She not just a mother to me, she's a mother to everyone," Weaver said.
Munford will not be the school's only loss. Another longtime teacher, Jim Crawford, retires in November. Crawford is the first full-time physical education teacher Oldsmar Elementary hired. In the last 31 years he has seen the student population more than double and the physical education staff grow to two full-time teachers and two assistants.
By Crawford's estimation, he's worked with more than 20,000 students.
"It's kind of amazing when you think about it," Crawford said. "Just about every place I go in this area, I'll see former students in all walks of life."
Schmitt also met Crawford during his rookie year teaching. "Jim and I were best of buddies then and still are," Schmitt said.
Crawford, 58, lives in Dunedin with his wife, Brenda, an attendance specialist with Pinellas County Schools. They have three grown sons and one grandchild. Crawford said he has several activities in mind after retiring - continuing to compete in triathlons and the Dunedin softball association, build a cabin on a property he owns in Alaska, and do occasional substitute teaching.
"By substitute teaching I can keep in touch with the kids," he said.
Crawford said he mostly enjoyed the years he spent trying to stimulate students' interest in physical fitness. "I hope it inspired them to get involved in some kind of lifetime sports activity to keep fit for life," he said.
Crawford and Munford signed up for the Deferred Retirement Option Program, commonly called DROP, which allows employees with thirty or more years of service to pick a date for retiring within five years of enrolling.
"I joined DROP in October 1999, so I've had five years to prepare my mind and heart," Munford said. "If I hadn't done that, leaving would hit me real hard."
Munford said she hopes to travel and spend more time with her husband and his church work. Her last day is Oct. 31 and Crawford's is Nov. 30.
"We'll miss both of them," Schmitt said. "It'll be tough on all of us."
