Surrounded by family, board of education members, parents and faculty members from the , outgoing superintendent Donald Zimring received an honorary proclamation at Wednesday evening's Agoura Hills City Council meeting. It is his second.
"It would not be the same place without you," said Mayor John Edelston during the special presentation."We would not have the same district, the same programs, the schools without you and your leadership. We want to express our gratitude for everything you've done."
On the dais, a teary-eyed Denis Weber, mayor pro tem, recounted the story of how Zimring changed his daughter's life. "I've known [Zimring] my whole term on the council ... once upon a time, he knew my [my daughter] attended Catholic school and he said, 'give me a chance, send your children to me and Ill make you proud.' I did ... and [my daughter] ended up at White Oak ... and Lindero and onto high school ... and you've never let me down, you've never let the district down. God bless you."
When asked what the honor means to him on a personal level, Zimring told Agoura Hills Patch, humbly, "It's very embarrassing and not what I'm about. The honor goes to everybody who works [in the district]. I'm fortunate enough to have been the cheerleader, which is the highest honor."
Larry Misel, principal, was also in attendance at the meeting. "[Don] has been a role model and a leader in this community," he said. "Ever since I've been here, which is since 1979, it's always been Donald Zimring. One of the reasons I came here is exactly because of him."
Dr Abbe Irshay, l principal, said she wanted to honor Zimring for his personal support. "I wanted to thank him because he gave me the opportunity to work here," she said.
When asked if he had any parting words for the district, Zimring said, "The one simple phrase I told everyone I met ... We're here for one purpose, that's to do great thngs for the kids ... I'm very proud to have been associated with [this district]."
Zimring and wife, Carolyn, will be heading to Northern California in August, where he will be taking a position as head of school at Brandeis Hillel Day School, a private Jewish school.
Zimring spent his entire career with Las Virgenes Unified, coming on board as a teacher at Lindero Canyon Middle School in 1975. He was eventually promoted to principal, deputy superintendent and finally superintendent in July 2007.
