Longtime Clovis schools executive assistant retires

CLOVIS -- Jelayne Curtis was everything an executive assistant should be for the 25 years she worked in the superintendent's office of the Clovis Municipal School District, according to Renee Russ, the district's current superintendent, and others who have worked with her.

"The scope and depth of Jelayne's knowledge of the last quarter century of the district's history is unmatched," Russ stated in an email. "Jelayne will be greatly missed, and she will always be remembered as one of our finest and most diligent employees."

Thursday, Curtis' last work day before her retirement, Curtis noted with pride her 25 years of serving superintendents and school board members for the Clovis Municipal School district, but also noted she was "ecstatic'' about entering retirement.

Retirement, she said will give her more time to be a caregiver for her husband and visits with children and grandchildren.

"You'll know when it's time," she said. "I knew in May the time had come."

She leaves her career with the district with "no regrets" about the job she did in serving eight superintendents and 22 school board members in her 25 years in the superintendent's office.

While she retired with the title of "executive assistant," Curtis said the job grew to the point that it defied any single job description.

She made reservations and travel arrangements for district staff and school board members when they left town on business. She took minutes at meetings, consulted administrators and staff to ensure they complied with state open meetings statutes and conducted meetings according to Roberts Rules of Order.

She was also familiar enough with legal procedures that she was often asked questions about state education laws.

While Curtis said she had no legal credentials and never acted as a legal adviser, she said, she knew how to locate laws in statute books and was familiar with the procedures many laws required, leading some to describe her as a sort of legal adviser.

For example, she said, she had to keep track of knowing which parent had custody and which parent had what visitation rights when students' parents divorced.

Her service, however, went far beyond knowledge of law and procedures.

"Over the course of her career with Clovis Municipal Schools," Russ wrote, Curtis "has been fiercely dedicated to serving and protecting the entire district, but especially the superintendents and Board Members she worked with along the way. "

One of Curtis' former superintendents, Rhonda Seidenwurm, said Curtis showed "incredible background and knowledge" in the matters she dealt with. Curtis was the "go-to" person for answers to procedural questions and even legal statutes.

"If she didn't know the answer, she would find the applicable statute and present it to you," Seidenwurm said.

Lora Harlan, who served on the CMS school board before taking on her current role as president of the Clovis Community College board, counts Curtis as a friend and gave Curtis high marks as an administrative assistant.

"She's a person who takes care of everything as it should be done to the 'nth' degree," Harlan said.

"All the arrangements she took care of were well done, and she always reminded us of what we needed to do.

"We went through a lot together," Harlan added, "and she was always on top of what we needed to know. To say she was an asset is almost an understatement."

Curtis' attitude was also a plus, Harlan said.

Everything Curtis did, Harlan said, "she always did it with a good attitude. She was a delightful person to be around."

Curtis said she was surprised when a long-time staff member asked her, "Who's going to teach me what I need to know?" when the staff member learned she was leaving.

"I never thought of myself as a teacher or mentor," Curtis said, "but I would take the time to explain things."

Others have told her that her departure leaves "a big hole in my heart" and "I owe my success to you," she said.

"That warms my heart," she said.

Curtis has been able to keep up with her duties as a remote worker since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

"In 2121," she said, "when everyone else came back, I stayed home" to continue to provide care for her husband, but she said she has been able to keep up with her duties as executive assistant.

Russ concluded, "Jelayne set the standard for beingthe consummate professional. The drive and passion she brought to her work each day is something all should strive to replicate."

In the course of her career, Curtis said, she has made many friends in the Clovis community within and outside the CMS district.

"You're paid to do a job," she said, "and friends are a benefit. They make us as happy as possible. And happy equals productive."

Curtis leaves her post satisfied with what she has accomplished, but she leaves with "no regrets. No tears," she said.