Milbank School Secretaries Keep Everything Running Smoothly

Six women work behind the scenes to keep things running smoothly in the Milbank and St. Lawrence Catholic Schools. Peggy Greiner, Pam Liebe, Tammy Rieger, Sharon Bogenrief, Kelsey Peery, and Julie Landmark are the school secretaries and administrative assistants. They are responsible for mountains of paperwork, answering questions, fielding telephone calls, tracking schedules, and about a million other things.

Peggy Greiner is the secretary for Superintendent Tim Graf. She is also the Special Services secretary. She began with the district in 2003 as the Special Services secretary and a paraprofessional in the early childhood classroom. In 2005, she moved to the superintendent’s office, but maintains her duties as the Special Services secretary. “In my position I am responsible for lots of data entry,” Peggy explained. “I enroll new families to the district, make changes to family information, update the district’s activity calendar, district policies, set up IEP meetings, and work with state and federal forms.”

Pam Liebe is also in the Central Office. She has been with the district since 2000, when she started as the lunch secretary. Now, as the business secretary, she says, “I do a lot of data entry for accounts payable and payroll. I also do most of the ordering for the district, process lunch payments, and prepare deposits.”

Tammy Rieger is in her 19th year as the high school secretary. Tammy admits some days are more challenging than others. But she says, “It is very rewarding working with everyone at MHS.”

Sharon Bogenreif has the longest history with the district. She is in her 27th year, with over 22 of those as the middle school secretary. “This is a job where you wear many hats, and they’re not the same ones every day,” she said. “There is always something going on. You have to be available and understand what is going on with the students and staff. The most rewarding part is when you see students leave at the end of the day with a smile and want to come back the next day. You know something good has happened.”

Julie Landmark is the secretary at St. Lawrence School. She has been in charge of the school office for the past 3½ years. She was formerly employed at St. Lawrence as a janitor. Unlike the other school secretaries, Julie also has the responsibility of collecting tuition payments. “I take care of all the tuition for the school, most people don’t realize that. I also help out in the preschool classroom when needed.”

Kelsey Peery is the secretary at Koch Elementary School. She is in her fourth year there. Previously, she spent over six years providing daycare to young children in her home. “When I was offered this job it felt like the right move,” she said. “The kids are definitely the best part of my job!” That was also the sentiment of all the other secretaries. Although their jobs, duties, and duration of employment varied, they all agreed- it’s all about the kids.

School Secretaries: (Back l. to r.) Kelsey Peery and Sharon Bogenreif. (Front) Peggy Greiner, Tammy Rieger, and Pam Liebe

St. Lawrence School Secretary Julie Landmark