Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – Retiring superintendent Jennifer Gill (pictured, seated) was not the only person who was emotional during her final school board meeting Monday.

“I was sending my kid off to the Early Learning Center in a special needs classroom,” said board vice president Buffy Lael-Wolf (pictured, left), recalling her first meeting with Gill, “and I was freaking out! And in that five-minute conversation, you put my mind at ease, explained to me that you’re going to do fine, ELC is going to take care of you, and they absolutely did. And every school since that time that my kid has been a part of, before I even joined this board, he has been taken care of, and that’s because of you and your leadership.”

Gill credited not only school board members and district administrators, but her family and friends who supported her even though they probably thought she was “crazy” to take the job in her hometown school district.

Succeeding Gill is Terrance Jordan, who summed up: “I want to personally say thank you and that we love you.”