Stanton honors former principal

FOX LAKE – To Bill Lomas, the key to being an effective school principal is not complicated.

“It’s just so simple,” Lomas said. “It’s all about the kids.”

Now, future students who walk through the halls of Stanton School in Fox Lake will get a reminder everyday of the man who worked for decades teaching and leading them.

At a special ceremony Sept. 1 to recognize Lomas, school officials unveiled a street sign in his honor outside the school, as well as a mural in the main school hallway. He also was presented with a token of the school he can take with him – a toilet from the faculty bathroom.

Stanton has been a home to Lomas for more than 30 years. He served as principal there for the last 20 years, and as a social studies teacher prior to that. His time as a staff member at the school began when he worked as a part-time custodian while a student at Grant Community High School.

For Lomas, the whole morning was “a bit overwhelming.”

“It’s a great honor,” he said. “I can’t even comprehend it.”

The district also has plans to begin issuing an annual “Lomas Legacy” award in honor of the former principal. A plaque for each recipient – who could be either from the district or the community – will be placed around the mural at Stanton, principal Jeff Sefcik said.

“We’ll keep the legacy going on forever,” he said.

Sefcik got the chance to learn about that legacy directly from Lomas during the past four years – time Sefcik spent as assistant principal at Stanton. It was a learning opportunity that helped Sefcik prepare for the principal position, he said.

“They are big shoes to fill,” Sefcik said. “Because he cared so much about the school, he wanted to make sure whoever took over was ready.”

Jim Harms, president of the Fox Lake School District 114 Board of Education, said Stanton has been shaped by the leadership of Lomas.

“He remembers every kid’s name,” Harms said. “It’s dedication to things like that that made kids feel special.”

Caring for the individual is what separated Lomas from other administrators, district Superintendent John Donnellan said. Prior to working as superintendent, Donnellan worked as principal of Wauconda Middle School and GCHS. His first day as principal at each school was marked by a phone call from Lomas.

“The first two phone calls I ever received as building principals were [from] Bill Lomas,” Donnellan said.

Lomas will be working in the District 114 office during the 2009-10 school year. As he prepares to retire, Lomas said he is fortunate his whole career has been with the same district, a rarity these days.

“I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to serve this community,” he said. “You plan on just making a difference one day, one year at a time, and the years pile on.”