LIVINGSTON MANOR — The year was 1980, and Deborah Fox had just landed a job as executive secretary to the superintendent of Otsego Northern Catskills BOCES in upstate Grand Gorge, not far from her Roxbury home.

She had no idea she might be a superintendent one day, but something simply felt right.

“I just fell in love with education and lifelong learning,” she remembers.

That passion led to her creation of BOCES' human resources department while she attended night school to gain a bachelor's in business management and economics.

That degree afforded her the chance to teach business courses at BOCES, and she became its workforce development coordinator.

“I was always in positions where I took the lead,” she recalls. “If something needed to be done, I was the go-to person.”

So in retrospect, it seems only natural that Fox pursued a master's in educational administration and wound up becoming an entire K-12 principal at the Charlotte Valley School District in Davenport, near Oneonta.

Then it was on to Onteora as assistant superintendent, and eight-and-a-half years ago, she was selected to be Livingston Manor Central School's superintendent.

She met her husband, Otsego Northern Catskills BOCES culinary arts teacher Jake Boyle, while teaching.

“He's been the wind beneath my wings, so to speak, all these years,” she relates.

Together they raised Taylor, now grown and employed; Tyler, a college student; and Savannah, a high school junior.

Her commute to Manor was one of the longest of her career - “over the [Pepacton] reservoir and through the woods,” as Fox puts it - but during that time, she managed to earn a doctorate in educational leadership and a certificate of advanced study.

“I guess I'm an intrinsically motivated person,” she says. “I've always strived for excellence in myself and those around me.”

That comes from what she calls “humble beginnings.”

“I worked starting at age 14,” Fox relates. “I've only been unemployed one day in my life - it was the day between leaving Onteora and coming to Livingston Manor!”

So her pending retirement on January 2 “is new territory for me.”

This is a superintendent who's handled both praise and problems, challenges and triumphs during her Manor tenure. One of the most trying periods was determining what - and who - to cut during the depths of the recession.

“It's a difficult role, and a lot of people are reluctant to go into leadership,” she affirms.

But not her.

“It's made me a stronger leader,” she says. “I've immensely enjoyed my time at Livingston Manor.”

And she'll miss both the place and its people.

“What has been so wonderful is being in a location long enough to bring about positive change,” Fox explains. “This school is focused on teaching and learning.”

She's taken particular pride in the stewardship of Manor's historic school building, the heart of the community for eight decades; the district's nearly debt-free status; and two major capital building projects.

“It's not just me - it's everyone. I've helped assemble a fabulous team that is very caring and capable,” she says. “I think we have a very, very good school district.”

“We thank her for her service to the district,” notes Board President Elliott Madison, speaking for a board that is still deciding who will replace her next month. “And we wish her luck in her future endeavors.”

What those endeavors will be aren't nailed down yet, though Fox is eager to attend her daughter's ski races this winter. And she'll likely continue being a mentor to teachers and superintendents, especially women, who are underrepresented in educational administration.

“I think - for sure - I will be connected to education in some way,” she affirms.