HOBART -- Eight months after he retired as a Hobart High School math teacher, Donald Rogers is settling into a new policy-making role with the school district.

Rogers, 64, was picked by the Hobart School Board to fill the vacancy created last month when trustee Stephen Turner resigned.

"I enjoyed my time in education and this is an opportunity to stay involved even though I'm retired," said Rogers, who assumed his board position last week.

Rogers, no relation to trustee Michael Rogers, was one of three finalists the board interviewed to complete Turner's remaining two-year term on the board. Six residents had sought the appointment.

Roger's teaching career stretches over four decades. In 1968, he was hired by the Gary Community School Corp. and taught high school math for 18 years before accepting a teaching job in Hobart.

After teaching in Hobart for 22 years, he retired in June along with his math-teacher wife, Jacalyn Rogers, who worked for the school district 40 years before retiring.

"My philosophy is the same as the school board's," Rogers said. "I believe and they believe in putting students first."