The Delaware Board of Education approved a number of staffing changes Monday night, including the retirement of two longtime bus drivers at the district.

The board approved the resignations of Amy Runyan and Daniel Varner, bus drivers for the district. Superintendent Paul Craft said that Runyan was hired as a driver for the district in 1983 and Varner was hired as a driver in 1984.

“Bus drivers Amy Runyan and Dan Varner have been such an integral part of this district for so long,” Craft said. “They have been the first school-district face that thousands of students have seen in the morning and the last face they’ve seen in the afternoon for more than 65 years combined. That kind of legacy simply can’t be replaced.”

Runyan will retire on May 31 and Varner will retire on June 30.

The board also approved the resignations of Amanda Martin, a cook/cashier at Smith Elementary; Haejin Kwon, a cook/cashier at Dempsey Middle School; Dawna Tompkins, a classified substitute at the district and Ryan Schey, a Hayes High teacher.

The board also approved the employment of Renee Downhower, a technology specialist at Carlisle Elementary, as well as approving supplemental contracts for Zach Westhoven and Samantha Ginter, Power of the Pen advisers at Dempsey.

Board member Ted Backus also took a moment to recognize the recent loss of community member Jerrold E. “Jerry” Heston, who passed away on Feb. 29.

Backus said that when he first campaigned for the school board, Heston essentially acted as his campaign manager and helped him in a variety of ways. Backus called Heston a “friend to the district” and said he would be missed.

The board also took a moment to acknowledge the passing of two other Delaware County residents, Robert Morgan, the former superintendent of the Delaware County Board of Developmental Disabilities, and Bill Stroud, a community member and longtime co-owner of the Brown Jug restaurant. The board said both men would be missed in the community.