Always voted for the students

Patricia Harney, the president of the Fountain Valley School District’s board of trustees and a longtime teacher and parent in the district, died Friday at the age of 72.

A teacher at three of the district’s schools from 1968 to 1996, Harney was elected to the board in 2002 and served until her death. She also co-founded the Fountain Valley Educational Foundation, which raises funds for art, music and science programs at all the district’s schools.

Supt. Marc Ecker, who served as Harney’s principal at Talbert Middle School, said her impact on the district was immeasurable. Harney, he said, had served as president of the teachers’ union and a number of parent-teacher organizations, but always voted according to students’ needs.

“I’m going to miss Pat Harney very, very much,” Ecker said. “I admire her not only because of a long-standing friendship and collegiality as educators in this district, but I admire her for standing up to issues that are not always easy to stand up to, and for balancing decisions not based on biases, but rather on what is in the best interest of children.”

Harney’s death came as a surprise to many in the district. According to Ecker, she had missed only a pair of board meetings in August and September and asked administrators not to make a big deal of it when she went in for surgery.

At the time of her death, Harney was on the verge of seeing one of her longtime dreams come true — the Educational Foundation, which she helped to launch in 1982, had raised nearly $1 million. Harney’s advocacy, colleagues said, particularly came in handy when state funds for art and music dried up.

“Without those programs, we miss educating a lot of our children,” said Susie Crandall, a board member and past president of the foundation. “Math and reading don’t hit it for all kids, and Pat was aware that kids needed those other things.”

“I just think of her as a life well lived in service to others,” said Carla Neeld, the foundation’s current president.

A service for Harney is planned for 11 a.m. Saturday at the Beachside Campus of Mariners Church, 18110 Magnolia Ave. A celebration of her life will follow at 12:15 p.m. at the Greenbrook Clubhouse, 18222 Santa Joanana St.

In lieu of flowers, Harney’s family has asked that donations be sent to the Fountain Valley Educational Foundation at 10055 Slater Ave., Fountain Valley, CA, 92708.