Next month the Board of Education will vote on a measure to honor the memory of Thomas Petruny.
Petruny, a 1965 graduate of Seymour High School, was a former Seymour schools superintendent. He died from cancer July 5. He was 61 years old.
Board Member Fred Stanek proposed the establishment of an award in the name of the educator during the board’s regular January meeting. While generally impressed with the notion, the board voted to table acceptance of the proposal until after some wording could be finalized.
Stanek first proposed the award back in October and offered to accept input from the rest of the board. When no one took him up on that offer, Stanek considered that a tacit go ahead to draft the proposal.
“I seemed to have been given the green light,” he said.
The award itself will be a plaque, awarded to a student who displays a strong interest in environmental education or preservation activities. Petruny was noted as a strong advocate of environmental education.
“The criteria are somewhat general, as set forth in the document,” Stanek said. “It could be made more specific.”
To that end, the proposed change that resulted in the proposal being tabled will better define the candidate pool.
Stanek’s original version proposes the award be available to all Seymour students. The final version will specify a preference for middle school students living in Seymour. If there is a more deserving student outside of the Middle School, they may still be considered.
The vote to accept the proposal was tabled until a revised version can be resubmitted next month.
Like the three existing awards for students and teachers in the district, the Petruny award will not carry a monetary prize. However, some mention was made by board members of possibly establishing a scholarship in Petruny’s name. The scholarship would be an entirely different award available to high school students.
Petruny served as Superintendent of Schools until his retirement in 2007.
Prior to serving as Superintendent, Petruny taught middle school students and served as an assistant principal in Monroe. Petruny returned to town in 1994 as an assistant superintendent, from which he was eventually promoted to his final position in the school system.
If the board approves Stanek’s revised proposal as anticipated, an award advisory committee will have until its second meeting in May to choose a recipient.
The Thomas J. Petruny Memorial Education and Environment Award would be given with the existing John J. Gallagher Memorial Athletic Award, the Vincentena Kobasa Excellence in Teaching Award and the David A. Brumer Excellence in Education Award.
