LANETT — On Monday, Lanett school officials wished a long and healthy retirement to its longest serving central office employee. Chief Financial Officer Anita Mitchell-Bostick is retiring at the end of the current school year after 33 years with the Lanett city system.

“We never had any problems with our audits,” Board President Gwen Harris Brooks told her. “It will be hard to replace someone like you. You’ve always been our mentor and our go-to person.”

“Your audits never had any errors,” added Board Member Tony Edmondson. “When I called on you for anything, you always answered my questions. If you didn’t know right away, you would look it up and get back to me right away. I always appreciated that.”

Principals Jamie Heard and Jennifer Boyd were glowing in their praise of Mitchell-Bostick.

“She was here when I first arrived in Lanett,” Heard, the principal at W.O. Lance, said. “She will really be missed. She was so good in getting you information you asked for.”

“You have been a blessing for us,” added Boyd, the LHS principal. “We will really miss you.”

Christy Carpenter, the school system’s federal programs and special education coordinator, described Mitchell-Bostick as her “work mama.”

“I know I’ve probably asked her three million questions,” she said. “Her dedication to this system has been enormous. Anita loves our people, our employee and the system.”

Mitchell-Bostick said that she had thoroughly enjoyed her time with the Lanett system. “It has been a blessing for me to have been here,” she said. “I am going to miss all of you.”

Over the remaining weeks of the current year, Mitchell-Bostick will be training her successor, Gwyn Barnes.

Superintendent Phillip Johnson said that the school district is experiencing a growth trend.

“We will have two more units going into next year, and that’s a good thing for us,” he said.

There are 35 students taking classes this summer at W.O. Lance Elementary School. The system had an ending balance of a little more than $1,3 million on May 31.