Former superintendent dies at 77
By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
Former longtime Burlington Area School District Superintendent Ron Jandura left a lasting impression in his 13 years at the helm.
And he won’t soon be forgotten.
Two former co-workers spoke highly of Jandura, who died April 13 at the age of 77. Jandura, who spent 41 years in education in Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota, served as the BASD superintendent from 1997 to 2010.
Current Superintendent Peter Smet, who was the business manager under Jandura, remembered Jandura with fondness during a telephone interview Monday.
“I enjoyed working with Ron very much,” Smet said. “I considered him to be a mentor to me. He had a very positive outlook on life and a great demeanor. He was also very intelligent. I really enjoyed working with him.”
Smet and retired Assistant Superintendent Patricia Hoffman agreed on the leadership style their former boss employed.
It was definitely a team effort when decisions needed to be made or projects completed, both said.
“He was soft spoken, and he let others take the lead on a lot of different things,” Smet said. “He allowed teachers and principals to explore new ideas and new things. He supported them along the way when they did that.”
Hoffman, who worked with Jandura for 13 years, agreed.
“In a word, he was wonderful,” she said. “He trusted people to do their job, to know what those jobs were. He had high expectations, but because he trusted you to do the right thing in the right way, we formed a powerful team in the district.
“We did a lot of exciting things. It was a very creative time and productive for the district.”
Hoffman, who was with the district from 1988 until her retirement in 2011, added that Jandura had a vision and willingness to look outside the box at times.
And that led to the beginning of a number of programs that still exist – and are flourishing – in the district today.
“He really was a visionary,” she said. “He was always seeing beyond the immediate. I think by encouraging entrepreneurial spirit and by forming partnerships with so many different entities in our area, he created an environment in which innovation flourished. The connections that we made were amazing.”
To read the complete story see the April 26 edition of the Burlington Standard Press.
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