By Sue Kiesewetter
Enquirer contributor

WEST CHESTER TWP. - Lakota Schools soon will lose two administrators who deal with the district's growth on a daily basis.

Larry Glass, longtime administrator for special projects - tracking and projecting enrollment growth is one of his duties - is retiring at the end of the year.

Transportation Director Larry Lane is retiring at the end of January.

"Clearly, they have a wealth of knowledge about our district," said Superintendent Kathleen Klink. "Anytime someone leaves it's a loss. We're going to miss them and their expertise."

Mr. Lane, 60, said the first thing he plans to do is take an overdue fishing trip.

"When I come back, I'll be ready to go back to work," Mr. Lane said. "I've worked real hard at this most of my life." He did not say where he intends to work.

At Lakota, Mr. Lane is responsible for a bus system that transports 16,300 students who live in the district to 17 Lakota schools and 31 private schools.

"We have a transportation system that rivals some cities,' " Mrs. Klink said.

The 195 full- and part-time drivers cover 177 routes for a total of 14,700 miles driven per day, or 2.7 million miles a year, Mr. Lane said.

"I will not miss getting up at 3 or 4 in the morning to make a recommendation to the superintendent on closing school," in inclement weather, Mr. Lane said. "I'll miss stopping at the doughnut shop and getting a cup of coffee each morning."

Mr. Lane became transportation director in 1996 after having served in the same role in the Hamilton, Milford and West Clermont schools. Before that, he spent 10 years in the Army and Army Reserves where he was a transportation officer, and then was a sales manager for an insurance company.

Mr. Glass joined the district in 1972 as an industrial arts teacher at Lakota High School and, except for two-years, has remained with Lakota. He has served as an assistant principal and later principal at Liberty Junior, before moving to the central office in 1989.

Mr. Glass has "provided a lot of help and support in his many roles," Mrs. Klink said.