By Terry Witt -Spotlight Senior Reporter

School Board member Rick Turner was showered with praise Tuesday for his 32 years of dedicated service to the Levy County School District.

Turner, who is retiring, spent the last few minutes of his final meeting as a board member hearing from those who worked with him

and appreciated his wisdom, insights, and knowledge.

“Words cannot express the gratitude that Levy County has for you and Donna (his wife) and the public service you gave our children in many ways. I want to thank you for that,” said Superintendent Jeff Edison.

Donna Turner served as the successful director of the Levy County Schools Foundation for a number of years. When her husband retired, she joined him. They are moving to the Florida Panhandle to be closer to their son and two grandchildren.

Turner said when he and his wife moved back to Levy County in 1987 he became principal of Williston High School. He has lived there ever since and appreciated the warmth he has felt from Williston residents and the people of Levy County.

Turner was raised in Cedar Key but moved away from the county after earning a college degree. He described Cedar Key as being a small part of his bigger home – Levy County.

“I’m just blessed to be in my bigger home,” Turner said.

Board member Brad Etheridge said Turner was his principal at Williston High School when the school had a highly successful agriculture and athletic program.

Turner remembered the nine years when Chiefland never lost to Williston in football and the 10 years when Williston never got beat by Chiefland.

“I was a part of that 10 years,” Etheridge said.

Etheridge said Turner was a friend of his father, Frank Etheridge, a former school board member.

“We spent a lot of good times. I think the first time I ever went scalloping he taught me how to do that and how to clean them. I’m still not fond of the cleaning process,” Etheridge said. “We spent a lot of days fishing together but I will say one thing about Mr. Turner and still today, you might not always like it, but you’re going to get the truth. I think at today’s meeting you upheld that again.”

Etheridge recalled sitting in Turner’s office one day after Turner called him in for missing a lot of school to run for state FFA president. He said Turner told him they needed to do something about all the classes he was missing because it could hurt him academically.

“He rambled around for a minute and he said, “I’ll tell you what I want to do; I’ll elect you ambassador to Williston High School; that way when you miss days it’s not counted against you. He always had a way around everything. I appreciate your time and dedication. Not only are we going to miss him on the school board, we’re going to miss him in the community,” Etheridge said.

Board Chairman Cameron Asbell said back in 1987 when he was a senior at Bronson High School word spread that Williston High School had the meanest principal of any school in the county. It was Turner. When he graduated from high school and began dating the girl he later married, she confirmed her former principal was mean.

Asbell said his view of Turner changed when he began serving on the school board as its newest member. Turner was by then an experienced board member. Asbell said for the past nine years that he served with Turner on the school board, he came to greatly respect and admire him.

“Mr. Turner has been a great mentor, a great leader and he has been a person I have had no problems listening to. I’m not saying we agreed on everything. There is a record we haven’t,” Asbell said. “But I have thoroughly enjoyed him. He has shown me different sides of issues and brought a special vision to things. I am desperately going to miss the man. He went from being the meanest principal in Levy County to someone I thought of as a friend, someone I had great admiration for. I hope and pray for him to have lots of time fishing in the Panhandle and lots of time with his grandchildren.”

Board member Chris Cowart said it was a pleasure to work with Turner and he appreciated all that Turner and his wife Donna have done for the schools and the staff of the Levy County School District. He said he appreciated the expertise Turner brought to school board discussions.

“To say that I appreciate you is an understatement. I appreciate your passion and the expertise you brought every single day you served and I had an opportunity to serve with you,” Cowart said. “I sure hope your phone will stay on and if the need arises, I can reach out to you and bounce things off you. Just wanted you to know how much it meant to me for all your efforts.”

Cowart added that Turner, during his years on the board, would often offer words of wisdom to parents during expulsion hearings, giving them guidance and wisdom they appreciated.

Turner made light of himself in response to Cowart’s comment about having expertise.

“You make a comment about expertise; if you can’t dazzle them with the facts, you baffle them with that other stuff,” he said, drawing laughter.

Board member Paige Brookins echoed the sentiments of other board members.

“Mr. Turner, it has been a pleasure to sit by your side working with you and getting to know you and all the great things Donna has done for the Foundation and served the district,” she said. “You truly will be missed.”

Turner will be replaced next week by Ashley Breeden Clemezi. She won the August primary. She will be sworn in at a special school Board meeting next Tuesday.

As the newest member of the board, she was assigned to serve on the Value Adjustment Board Tuesday, which isn’t a favorite assignment among board members.

Brookins will be the alternate and will serve in Clemenzi’s place for the first VAB meeting. Clemenzi will take her place for any meetings that follow. The VAB meets to decide disputed property tax bills.

School Board of Levy County Regular Meeting November 13, 2018

Posted November 13, 2018