WESTMINSTER : District Official to Retire in August

Keith (Bill) Lawson, a longtime assistant superintendent for the Westminster School District, will retire in August after 32 years of service.

The soft-spoken administrator began his career with the district as a teaching vice principal in 1961 and served as principal at three elementary schools by 1970. In 1972 he became assistant superintendent for educational services, and served as acting superintendent in 1989 and interim superintendent in 1990.

On Tuesday, Lawson, 57, who lives in Rossmoor, said he will retire to spend time and travel with his wife and family. His wife, Carolyn, an assistant superintendent at the Savanna School District in Anaheim, will also be retiring.

“I’m going to miss all the nice people and all the opportunities to do good things for the children,” Lawson said. “I have a great pride in what public education is doing for children. The people that I work with at Westminster are extremely dedicated to and skilled at what they do.”

Kathy Levenshus, a parent-teacher association vice president, praised Lawson’s service to the district. “I’m sad to see him go. He’s always been an asset here, always very gentlemanly and dignified. I can’t say any negatives about him.”

Although filling his position will not be difficult, it will not be easy to find someone to take his place, she added.

A former Navy reservist, Lawson is a life member of Phi Delta Kappa, an educational fraternity, and a member of the Masonic Lodge of Santa Ana. He has also been active in the Assn. of California School Administrators.

Three years ago, he helped found the Westminster School District Foundation for Educational Excellence, which honors top students districtwide at an annual ceremony. Sylvia Garrett, foundation president, lauded his willingness to listen to and implement new ideas.

She added that his tenure with the district has been “very important. His primary thrust has been to make the students the best they can be, that students meet their potential through education.”

Lawson, who will retire on Aug. 1, said his travel plans include trips across California and also to Hawaii and Alaska. “We’ve been to more than 40 countries already. We like to travel, but we never get enough of it. I’ve been waiting for this opportunity my whole life.”