By Crystal Hayduk
Ron Livengood said a quiet farewell to fellow employees, marking his official retirement from the Chelsea School District at the end of August.
Livengood served the district as director of operations for nearly 20 years. “Ron will be greatly missed here,” said Superintendent Dave Killips.
A devoted husband and father to three children, Livengood moved to Michigan in 1989. He previously worked in the meat processing business in Missouri and then Kansas. His desire to settle in one place brought him to Chelsea and a job at Cavanaugh Lakeview Farms.
“We went from 10 employees to 60,” Livengood said of the company. “It was bought out by Thorn Apple Valley in 1995, and they offered me a transfer to Oklahoma. But Chelsea was home, so I looked for another job here. That’s when I took the job with the school district.”
He was hired by Superintendent Ed Richardson, just after local voters passed the bond proposal of 1995. “At that time, the district was on the brink of undergoing the most renovations since 1975. Ed hired me to manage the renovations and said, ‘You’ll live with the end result,’” said Livengood.
In the first few years as operations director, Livengood managed the construction of Pierce Lake and initial renovations of North Creek and South Meadows, as well as the construction of (the new) Chelsea High School. Renovations to the Charles S. Cameron Pool at Beach Middle School followed in 2005.
Livengood managed more recent renovations to North, South, Beach, and the Washington Street Education Center with funds raised from the 2004 bonds.
“I have to give a tremendous amount of credit to the voters,” Livengood said. “They made all of these things possible when they gave the district the capital funds to do the work through the bonds. Expenditures on facilities are completely separate from the money we use to educate the children.”
The director of operations reports directly to the school district superintendent. “I’ve had a very good relationship with each one,” said Livengood. He worked under Ed Richardson for about seven years, Dave Killips for 10 years, and Andy Ingall for three years.
Killips praised Livengood for the excellent work he has done on behalf of the district over the last 20 years. “There was a growing relationship between Ron and the educators,” said Killips. “We’ve learned a lot about construction from him, and he’s learned a lot about education from us. The melding of the two is really critical to providing the best facilities for our students. He did a fantastic job of making the dollar stretch as far as possible.
“Ron always demanded quality work. He looked out for the best interests of the school and the community,” said Killips.
Livengood said that working for Chelsea School District has been good for his family, but the time seemed right to retire now. He will continue living and working in Chelsea, directing his full-time attention to the family business, Chelsea Hearth and Fireplaces, which is in the process of moving to a new location.
I worked for Ron at Cavanaugh Lakeview Farms.
He is a great guy. Thanks, Ron I learned a lot from you.