This week the Bremerton School District announced it would be combining what was previously two separate positions into a single position that encompassed both finance and human resources.

This is a logical, organizational and money saving move by the district and one which I agree with.

In 2006, my then kindergarten-aged child entered the public education system.

Up until that point, I only had my own personal education experience to go on and that was already dated.

I knew very little about the operations and organization of the education system and almost nothing about how it was funded. So I joined the school PTA and within the next two years found myself at the forefront of more than one hot button issue.

The opportunity to serve on the Bremerton district’s finance committee when it came along, seemed like a natural choice to me as an available learning experience.

That is where I met Finance Director Wayne Lindberg. Over the next three years, I soaked up everything Wayne was willing to teach me when it came to district operations, funding, staffing, capital and special programs.

The more I learned, the more I challenged and the more I pressed.

I threw my full support behind changes, decisions or issues I agreed with and made my disappointment clear to the district office and school board when it did not.

Not once over the entire course of my involvement, did Wayne ever make me feel like I was not welcomed.

He never made me feel that my questions were not important or that as a participant or contributor I was not important to the system.  He never denied me access to his time or any of the considerable knowledge or explanations he had to provide.

Wayne taught me one of the most important lessons of all and that is what it means to be a true public steward. A steward that not only openly accepts and embraces those who may disagree just as much as they embrace those who agree but also makes an immediate place at the table for those disagreements.

Working with Wayne has raised my bar of expectation for public leadership very high. I have only found a few others to date that can match that patience, acceptance, professionalism and encouragement I have always received from Wayne.

State education funding has thrown districts into financial positions and conditions that face increasing challenges.

Amidst these challenges Bremerton has enjoyed a position of conservative stability due to Wayne’s stewardship, guidance and advice to the transient members of various school board configurations and multiple district superintendents.

Wayne will be retiring this December. I am truly going to miss him, a lot, but the time he has taken to educate the parents and citizens of Bremerton over the span of his career is a legacy that continues.

Colleen Smidt is a longtime resident of Bremerton who writes weekly about community and political matters. Email her at colleensmidt@gmail.com.