While standing on a bridge in Tempe during the Fourth of July Celebration in 2009, Steve Tavasci, then a superintendent for a concrete company, asked Elizabeth Benforado, a charter school teacher, what time the fireworks show was scheduled to start.

That was also the moment their unscheduled interpersonal fireworks ignited.

“And that was it,” the now-Elizabeth Tavasci said. “We talked the whole rest of the show. We walked around in Tempe for half the night, and that was it, just have been together ever since. We will celebrate our 10-year wedding anniversary in June.”

The photograph of that evening, taken by a friend of hers who was on hand to shoot the fireworks, is hanging in her office at West Sedona School along with a collection of chalkboard pointers made by her students, including one topped by a model of the mammal-like reptile Dimetrodon that lumbered the earth 280 million years ago. However, it is an office that Tavasci will be leaving soon.

Tavasci announced on March 20 that she will be leaving her position as principal of WSS on Sunday, June 30. Her successor is anticipated to start the following day to coincide with Sedona-Oak Creek School District’s administrative contracts. The position is listed on the district’s website with a salary range of $73,000 to $87,100.

“That decision was made because my husband and I are expecting our first baby [a daughter] in September and we’re absolutely thrilled and our family decided that it would be best that I take at least a year off and spend that time with our baby and stay at home with her for a while,” Tavasci said, adding that she has not yet decided when she will return to working in education.

The couple relocated to the Verde Valley seven years ago, since Steve Tavasci is a native of Clarkdale. “Steve is the smartest and funniest person that I know,” Elizabeth Tavasci said. “He makes me laugh every day. He’s very kind. He’s a residential and commercial contractor.”

“My heart has been in education since forever,” Tavasci said. “It started as the   classic question that first-grade teachers ask your students: ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ And I said, ‘I wanted to be a teacher.’ And I never found anything that I wanted to do differently, and I’ve been in education for almost 18 years now. I know that I’ll return to it, whether it’s in a year, or whether it’s when my daughter is in preschool, but I know that I’ll come back to education.”

“I’ve only worked with her for just this year,” SOCSD Superintendent Tom Swaninger said. “But she’s a strong instructional leader, she has a very warm demeanor, with her staff and her students and her parent group. She’s been instrumental as a part of our cabinet or district team in moving our initiatives forward. On a personal level, she’s just a delight to be with, and on a professional level, she’s done well in her current position, and has a bright future ahead of her in education should she choose to return.”

Getting volunteers back into the classroom post-pandemic and improving written communications with parents and the community were two of the initiatives that Tavasci said she was most proud of during her tenure. 

She has been WSS principal since the fall of the 2022-23 school year after spending the prior three years as a reading specialist. Her classroom experience was focused on kindergarten through second grade.

“The role of principal in and of itself has been a major surprise in my journey,” Tavasci said. “When I got into education I thought I’d be a career-long teacher. And I went into teacher mentoring and I just built up leadership skills along the way. And then it was really proposed to me a few years ago, like, have you ever thought about administration? Have you ever thought about principal? Initially, in my career, it didn’t cross my mind. It wouldn’t have been the thing that I would have thought [I’d do], but building up those skills over time and then having the opportunity two years ago to become the principal at WSS, a school that I love with students that I love, families that I love, teachers that I love, I had to jump in.”

“She’s been fantastic,” Swaninger said. “I’m very happy for her. I think it’s a wonderful thing for her and her family. But I think that she’s done a really nice job of building a strong community over there at West Sedona School. She’ll be a tough one to replace.”

Tavasci said she felt her experience with a range of children and her master’s degree in early childhood education has given her some idea of what to expect from motherhood.

“But I don’t really think that anything fully prepares you to become a parent until you are a parent,” Tavasci said. “So I also anticipate there to be some surprises. I’ve always been able to give the children back at the end of the school day or at the end of the visit. This will be a different experience.”

A typical day for Tavasci at West Sedona School starts with gate duty, and while that will be ending for her soon professionally, she is looking forward to doing that duty in her personal life. She said she was most anticipating “getting to know my daughter and getting to experience this part of life. It’s very short-lived. Time goes by so fast, though, so I just want to sink into it and soak it all in the best that I can.”

The two finalists to be the next WSS principal are Alisa Stieg of Santa Fe South Charter School of Norman, Okla., and Shelley Hillman of Palo Verde Unified School District of Blythe, Calif. SOCSD is currently checking the finalists’ references and may have a SOCSD Governing Board “offer finalized sometime this week,” Swaninger said.