Being a member of a school board is a rather thankless job.

In influencing the education of children, board members grapple with decisions that impact the future of individuals and ultimately, the country.

Board members also regularly deal with rules imposed on school districts by the state and federal governments. And then there are the unhappy parents and crabby taxpayers. For dealing with all that, board members in Fort Dodge are paid exactly nothing.

It takes a special kind of person to deal with all that for any length of time.

That is what makes Stu Cochrane’s tenure on the Fort Dodge Community School District Board of Education particularly remarkable.

He has been on the board for 28 years, and has been its president for many of those years.

That long tenure will end on Sept. 15 when he resigns. He has said that a variety of professional and personal reasons led him to step down before his term ends in a couple of years.

When he first ran for a seat on the board he had three children in Fort Dodge schools. He said he wanted to do something to make their education, and the education of the kids who came after them, something special.

During his tenure, the new Middle School and the new Duncombe Elementary School were built. Fort Dodge Senior High School and Cooper Elementary School were upgraded. And important upgrades were started at Dodger Stadium.

Cochrane said he is very proud of the relationships he developed with fellow board members, district administrators, teachers and staff members.

We believe that Cochrane accomplished his goal of making education something special for his kids and others.

We thank him for his long service to our schools and their students.