Lynne Casetta has worked for TUSD for 31 years and will finally retire this summer, answering her last phone call in June – a very hard decision of hers. She’s most looking forward to spending more time with her family and being able to see them more. The family is planning a cruise – something that has been postponed several times due to Covid – but first, Mrs. Lynne must have surgery to improve her knee.   She is going to miss all of her colleagues and acquaintances that she has made over the years, especially the staff in the office. Her departure is bittersweet, as she says she is going to miss many different aspects of this school when she is gone, like getting to know the students and their parents.

As reported in a previous article, Mrs. Lynne was born and raised in Red Bank, New Jersey as the oldest of four sisters. She moved to Phoenix at the age of sixteen, struggling to adjust to the new change. “It was not easy for me,” said Mrs. Lynne. “I went to finish high school up in Scottsdale, and it was a bit of an adjustment.” A few years later, Casetta married her husband, Bob. The two have been together for forty-seven happy years with two children and five grandchildren. “We watch a lot of baseball, it’s one of our favorite things to do together.”  Now, she just really wants to spend more time with her husband. Bob has been retired for 3 years, so they will get to spend every single day together, which will be a big change for her.

Mrs. Lynne has been at Sahuaro High School for 13 years and has appreciated the environment and her co-workers through the years. She said, “I have always liked the age group, which is why I chose to stay here for so many years.” Many of the students she has known from her years at TUSD go to this school now and some of them are even adults. She plans on staying in touch with her co-workers after she is gone because she has an awesome relationship with many of them.  Brittany Nelson, who just started on Monday, but will soon have seniority in the attendance office said, “I’ll miss her bubbly and outgoing personality and how so very welcoming she is.”  Mrs. Lynne feels awful about leaving someone brand new to take charge and talks about coming back to volunteer, but that just goes to show how dedicated she is to our school; she worries about how we will survive without her.  It will be a tribulation and there will be some hectic days, but Mrs. Lynne deserves to enjoy her days.  “Lynne, every single person at Sahuaro will miss you.  You always have a welcoming smile and you have so much patience!  People (not me – but I’m sure other people) will all chip in to help!” English teacher Ms. Lange joked, encouraging her to enjoy this next stage of her life.  Her final day at Sahuaro will officially be on June 30th and we all will say farewell.

While she is retired she will be doing some volunteer work to occupy her time as she still intends on being active. She has always had a great work ethic and enjoys the social aspect of her job.  Paula Saldutti, Office Manager and a good friend who has worked with her all these years says, “I will miss everything about Lynne because she has been my go-to person for years and I can ask her anything and she will know.” Miss Lynne brought light into this school and will leave a very huge shoe to fill for anyone who will take over the front office in the future.