Patricia Velie deserved a better sendoff from schools

“Is that all there is? Is that all there is?” — Peggy Lee, 1969

ACHTUNG: This is not a “fair and balanced” article. It is an editorial by the editor.

I am sorry to express my disappointment with the way the Wayland Board of Education Monday night handled the last meeting of retiring assistant Supt. for Finances and Operations Patricia Velie.

Ms. Velie has been arguably the best school administrator at Wayland in quite a spell. In her seven years as finance director, the school system has steadily beefed up its fund balance, which was identified by the school board as an issue when she came on board.

Not only that, she played crucial roles in getting artificial turf installed at the football stadium as an extra bonus to a bond issue several years ago and then guided the astonishing campaign for a new pool and other repairs with a successful bond issue that at one time I didn’t think could be done.

When she came on board the school district was suffering from public relations problems. And when your constituents are critical about such things as handling money, it can lead to serious trouble for the schools.

But Velie was able to capture the confidence of the people in the community very quickly, even to the point where traditional and notorious tightwads admitted they liked and supported her.

To be sure, Ms. Velie was blessed with a positive history in Wayland before she left for the Boston area years ago. Her children graduated from Wayland High School, she worked for the schools and her husband was a mover and shaker in the scouting program. When they returned and she took the director of finance and operations post, it seemed as though a lot of local people were happy to see her come back and trusted her.

But Monday night I felt as though I’ve seen more glad-handing and well wishes for board members who were leaving, people who simply didn’t have the impact she did. Furthermore, she agreed to stay on longer than she planned in her original announcement of retiring, just to make sure her pet project of the $49.7 million bond issue was completed. She originally said she was leaving July 1, 2022, but made it to a year afterward.

As a result, all is well with finances and good will from the community. We have Ms. Velie to thank. 

I don’t understand why her last meeting was so low key — maybe because it was just a work session, but the board has long known about when this day would arrive.

I’m one of the last persons to care a whit about cosmetic gestures and public relations matters, but I think Ms. Velie deserved much better as she rides quietly, but triumphantly into the sunset.

Well done, good and faithful servant.