The Selma City School Board honored the school system’s retirees Wednesday night during their regular school board meeting, presenting each of them with plaques and recognizing their many years of service.

“You will be sorely missed,” said Dr. James Carter as he addressed the retirees. “We appreciate all the hard work you did and it’s a sad moment to see you go.”

One retiree, Selma Middle Chat Academy librarian Donna Wiltsie, received a standing ovation for her 41 years of service to the school system.

After a brief stint at Selma High School, Wiltsie said she spent the majority of her career at Selma Middle CHAT Academy.

“I enjoyed it all very much,” Wiltsie said. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t have stayed so long.”

During the meeting, board President Nancy Bennett praised Cater for his high evaluation on the Professional Education Personnel Evaluation.

Bennett said Carter received a score of 49 points out of a possible 50, with high marks in several categories.

“The state mandated that school board evaluate their personnel,” Bennett said. “We use an outside evaluator to try to ensure there is no bias.”

Every three years, said Bennett, the board has to complete a questionnaire, and Carter has to fill-out some paperwork and be interviewed by an evaluator.

“I couldn’t do my job without the help of the outstanding staff we have,” Carter said. “I just want to tell all my staff to continue working hard.”

Bennett said this past school year went by with few problems, and transitions went over smoothly.

“I’m just proud of our superintendent for his high evaluation and everyone for making this year successful,” Bennett said.

Carter said this had been a busy year for the city school system as facility and staff dealt with tight budge cuts, but they managed to “weather the storm a lot better than I anticipated.”

“This speaks of the quality of the staff who pitched in and made things happen,” Carter said.

The meeting ended with a reception for the retirees and their families in the library of the School of Discovery.