Like much of her career, Sandy Weese’s decision to retire at the end of the school year came at the advice of others.

“It’s not a secret. It’s my health,” the Tyler Consolidated High School principal said of her resignation. “I can’t do this job the way it should be done. It’s not fair to the students.”

Weese was eligible for retirement following the 2006 and 2007 school year, but chose to remain a final year to graduate with the freshmen who entered high school in 2004 with her. The thought of not finishing their journey through secondary education would have left the job she left the superintendent’s position for seem unfinished.

“My husband (Roger) wanted me to retire and I could have in August. I said I owed them one more year,” Weese said.

With the summer to recuperate after a year’s worth of wear and tear of a normal school year, her batteries were charged enough to return.

“This year has taken it’s toll. I need to rest more,” Weese said. “It’s sad for me because I love this job. My only regret is I didn’t have the opportunity to be principal sooner. This is where the action is.”

Beginning at West Virginia University, Weese had the good fortune that jobs came to her. It began with Bob Sullivan in 1975 who interviewed her at a teachers’ recruiting fair on campus. As a December graduate, there were no openings in Tyler County.

Instead, she went to Fayette County where she steered her first class through the academic waters.

“After my first year there, Tyler County was starting a learning disabilities class at Sistersville Elementary School,” Weese said. That’s back when the mortar was still drying and the facility was called Valley View.

The idea intrigued her and it would mean a shorter drive to visit her parents in Wheeling, so she took the job.

“I looked around here, and I’d never been to Tyler County before, and they showed me around the school, which I fell in love with, and said I’d be here one year,” Weese said. “I’ve been here 33.”

Spearheading the special needs class was enough as far as she was concerned. If not for Freda Hunt, Weese may very well still be in the classroom.

“Mrs. Hunt was principal at Sistersville Elementary and I give her credit for my career moves. I just thought I’d teach all my life,” she said.

But, while pulling lunch duty with Susan Boyles, Weese was approached by Hunt who told her of a new positioning opening in the board office for special education.

“She said I should apply for the job. There were lots of others with experience in special education, but she was relentless,” Weese said.

Lost in thought, she wondered if she’d ever shared the story with current Board of Education member and vice president Ken Hunt, son of Freda Hunt.

“Because of her insistence, I applied,” Weese finished the story.

She got the job and then some. In addition to special education director, Weese also became the vocational education director. The next step was assistant superintendent, followed by the superintendent’s seat.

She applied for that job at the suggestion of Superintendent Nick Zervos who went home to Marshall County.

That lasted 15 years until Jimmy Wyatt chose to retire and the Tyler Consolidated High School’s principal position opened.

But, the initial year of her superintendency was a busy one with a teacher’s strike.

“The first thing that came up that first year was the teacher’s strike,” Weese said. For a month her telephone rang off the hook as angry parents demanded their children be returned to the classroom. At the time, she was the youngest superintendent in the history of the state.

That was mild compared to what came next.

“My father-in-law said I’d do just fine as long as I didn’t bring up consolidation. What happened?,” Weese asked.

Tyler Consolidated has become a legacy not only to the people of Tyler County, but Weese. In five or 10 or 15 years, she’ll be able to drive by and see a monument to education that came at a steep cost as divided communities argued against consolidation.

In the end, Weese was the middleman who recommended the decision to form a united middle and high school based on committee findings.

“A committee was formed from people in every community,” she said. “They were broken up into subcommittees and went and toured every school in the county.”

One committee studied curriculum and personnel. Another crunched numbers weighing dollars against renovations or new construction. And, on and on.

“They studied and came to together I don’t know how many times in six months and reported to the other groups. It was their decision to go for one middle and high school. It was just going to be too cost prohibitive to make the old schools state-of-the-art,” Weese said.

The next step was to sell a bond levy to the county. Going back to the committee then hitting the road, Weese found herself speaking to “every” organization in the county.

“I like that I can drive by here and every time I look up, I have great pride in the facility for the students.”

Weese is also proud of improvements made to both elementary schools.

“The facilities we have in this county are second to none,” she said.

However, after 15 years, it was time for a change. When former TCHS Principal Jimmy Wyatt chose to call it a day, Weese mulled the idea over of making a move from the board office to the principal’s office. It was the first time she had taken the initiative on her own to find a new job.

“It’s time to leave when you get up in the morning and you’re not excited about your job,” she said.

So, she told the board and trusted them in their decision. By state law, she could not apply for the principal’s position while still the superintendent. A few jokes about them being happy to know her and good luck and then she was approved, complete with salary cut, but the money didn’t matter.

“It’s so interesting to watch these kids come in as freshmen after being on top as fifth graders and again as eighth graders and have to work their way up the ladder again,” Weese said. “They come into high school so immature and we have to teach them.

“They don’t take their academic careers seriously — what 14-year old does?”

The metamorphosis is over the summer between ninth and 10th grade when students realize their high school career is moving quickly.

“I enjoy being principal because it’s so unique. The students have so many pressures and so much more stress and influences to deal with that we didn’t have,” Weese said.

She is principal and mother from the time students hit the commons area for breakfast until they retake their bus seats at the end of the day. The effort required on a day-to-day basis is proving more than her body can take now.

“If I felt I had the energy to do this the way it could be done, I wouldn’t be retiring. Being around young people keeps you feeling young. It’s true. And, I am so lucky to have the caliber of students that we have here,” she said.

“We still have students who show respect. It’s no doubt I’ll miss them most of all. They’re fun and funny. And, it’s critical we be there for them. Without them, we would not be here,” she said.

“And, I’ll miss this staff.

“I couldn’t be principal anywhere else.”

The position was posted April 18 with an expiration to apply May 16 and advertised statewide. According to Duane Dober, personnel director, the goal is to have a replacement in place July 1 following Weese’s resignation of June 30.