By Sarah Hall
Editor
Patrick Svoboda dedicated his life to children.
Svoboda had seven of his own — Gabriella, Cassidy, Brody, Joseph, Addie Jean and Charlie, as well as Ivy Jane, who was stillborn in 2014. He served on the North Syracuse Central School District Board of Education for seven years. He left a 16-year career at Verizon to start teaching in the Syracuse City School District.
“He had so much care and compassion for every one of his students, got to know them each very personally, what their likes were and the things that they enjoyed and what they struggled with and knew how to meet each one of their needs,” said Teresa Haley, principal at H.W. Smith Elementary, where Svoboda began working in November of 2017. “He found his passion working with children, and it was like he had finally felt like he was making a difference in what he did every day, and when he was here, he gave 100 percent of himself.”
Svoboda, 39, of Clay, passed away unexpectedly Tuesday, May 1. In addition to his children, he is survived by his wife, Jessica, as well as his parents, siblings, nieces and nephews — and the numerous children whose lives he touched.
Svoboda, a 1997 graduate of Cicero-North Syracuse High School, was first elected to the North Syracuse school board in 2010 and began his first term July 1 of that year. He served as president of the board for three years before stepping down in 2016, then rejoined the board in 2017, where he remained until the present.
Current Board President Michael Shusda issued a statement on behalf of the district in the wake of Svoboda’s passing.
“Patrick’s dedication and commitment to the North Syracuse Central School District students, parents and community will be missed,” Shusda wrote. “Our thoughts and prayers are with Patrick’s family and friends.”
The board cancelled its May 7 meeting in deference to Svoboda’s family.
That dedication led Svoboda to take a job as a teacher’s aide at H.W. Smith Pre-K through 8 School in Syracuse, where he spent most of his time in a second-grade classroom.
“He had dreamed of working with students,” Haley said. “He started with us in November, and just in that very short amount of time, he has had a huge impact on the kids that he worked with and the entire staff that he worked with — anyone that came in contact with him became a fast friend of Patrick’s. It’s not hard to do.”
Haley said while Svoboda had a regular classroom assignment, he filled in where he was needed, so he was well known throughout the building. As a result, the entire school community is reeling from the news of his passing. But the administration is taking steps to help the students cope. First, the school called every parent and advised them of the news, inviting them to take part in the next day’s “Morning Meeting” with their children.
“We have a crisis management team that works together for, in particular, these students,” Haley said. “They had school psychologist came in and did our Morning Meetings with them, and then the students went through a process of making cards for either Patrick or Patrick’s family… and there’s certain students that may need some individual counseling, so then that takes place, as well.”
Haley said the crisis management team continues to check in with students daily.
The principal said she knew Svoboda and his family particularly well, as he also worked for her at Triple H Stables, which she owns.
“He and his little girl, they worked the barn every weekend to let her keep a horse,” Haley said. “In a family of six kids, it’s difficult for a child to have a horse, so he was an employee of mine in two places… It’s been tough.”
She noted that a GoFundMe has been set up so that Svoboda’s daughter, Cassidy, can keep her horse at the stables. The funds raised will pay for the horse’s board, farrier and vet care for a year (gofundme.com/let039s-help-cassidy-keep-tucker). Another GoFundMe campaign has been established by friends of Jessica Svoboda to help the family with general expenses (gofundme.com/the-svoboda-family).
Haley said she isn’t surprised to see this kind of generosity for the family, as that’s the kind of attitude Svoboda himself always had.
“I know it’s cliché, but he would stop and take the shirt off his back if you needed it. He would never, ever pass anyone by without asking if they needed help or if there’s something he could do,” she said. “He just put everybody here at this school first. He was passionate about his kids. Really, in the short amount of time he was here, their lives were changed by Mr. S.”
And no matter how short his tenure in their lives, Haley said, his kids will remember him.
“All the kids drew cards, and this one little boy in his class drew a card where it showed a picture of all these desks, and then it showed the picture of this little boy at his desk, and then behind him was this extremely tall figure,” she recalled. “Patrick was tall, and could you imagine from a second grade perspective, he was really tall, and the tall figure had a thought bubble coming out of its mouth that said, ‘You can do it,’ and then the little boy’s thought bubble said, ‘Thank you, Mr. S.’ That’s how they remember him.”
