Sandi Tinyk is still doing what she loves.

She is just not doing for the Barrington Community School. 

The longtime Barrington resident spent 40 years working as the director of the Barrington Community School, programming a wide array of classes, trips and other activities. 

But this year, just months after the community school merged with the town's recreation department and became the "Barrington Learning Center," Ms. Tinyk decided to walk away from the position. It was a bittersweet ending to a role Ms. Tinyk held for four decades.

"It was a lot of work, but it was a labor of love," said Ms. Tinyk, who is now organizing special trips for a small group of her friends. 

Ms. Tinyk said the decision to resign came after she received three separate contract offers from the town that failed to match the specifications she had discussed with town officials. Ms. Tinyk said that if her contract offer had matched what was originally discussed, she would still be there today.

New to town

Ms. Tinyk moved to Barrington 1978 from Gales Ferry, Conn., and was still acclimating to her new community when a woman she met at a party asked if she was interested in helping run the community school. 

"I said 'I don't know anything about adult education.' Because that's what it was then," she said. 

But, she added: "My husband said 'Why don't you give them a hand? It will give you something to do.' I've never let him forget that remark. So I called her back and said 'I'll tell you what, I'll help you out for a year or two. That's it.' … and the more I got into it, the more I began to really love it."

Ms. Tinyk embraced the community school's mission and befriended countless residents who signed up for courses. She started added new items to the curriculum — an SAT preparation class for Barrington students and trips to visit college campuses for high school seniors.

"There was a very gradual evolution," she said. 

Ms. Tinyk said the Barrington Community School offered residents a chance to explore new or long-held interests. 

Some of the people who signed up for courses showed impressive talent.

Ms. Tinyk recalled one of the nuns who lived at the Carmelite Monastery on Watson Avenue. She signed up for a painting course and quickly began creating beautiful works. 

"She was our Grandma Moses. She was fabulous, from the beginning," Ms. Tinyk said.

In the early 1980s, Ms. Tinyk recalled wanting to go to New York City to see Katharine Hepburn in a show.

"My husband wasn't interested" in going, said Ms. Tinyk.

So she planned a trip to the city with some of her friends. 

"So, that's how it started," she said. 

Barrington Community School's trips — domestic and international — grew in scope and reputation. She planned local excursions, offering insightful commentary along the way. And she put together visits to foreign countries, including a trip to Iceland during Super Bowl weekend for those who did not follow football. The Barrington Garden Club approached her and asked if she could plan a trip to the Chelsea Flower Show in England — the largest outdoor flower show in the world. 

It was a wonderful experience, said Ms. Tinyk.

But after decades of running the school, Ms. Tinyk began considering her eventual retirement. Each time the school's executive director thought about stepping down, something would happen, she said. 

One year she was involved in car accident that left her hospitalized.

"I was working from my hospital bed, because we had a brochure due at the printers," she said. 

More recently she approached the town manager with a plan. She said many of the Barrington Community School students were getting older, and enrollment was dwindling a bit. Some of the school's costs were on the rise.

"I was working too hard for too little," she said. "So I went to Jim (Cunha) and I explained the situation."

Her plan was to merge the community school with the town's Peck Center for Adult Enrichment programming. The town would assume some of the hard costs associated with the school. Ms. Tinyk said the town could hire her replacement and she would spend time training the person. 

"I'm not getting any younger," said Ms. Tinyk.

But at about the same time as plans were materializing in June, Ms. Tinyk experienced a health emergency. She was still in the hospital when officials began asking why she had not signed a new contract. Ms. Tinyk said the offer did not mesh with details discussed previously.

"And so I wasn't happy," she said. 

Ms. Tinyk said she decided to step down. The Barrington Community School, meanwhile, was incorporated into the town's recreation department and became the Barrington Learning Center. 

Mr. Cunha shared this comment about the situation: "I would only say that the Ms. Tinyk reached out to me as she was looking to 'retire' from leading the Barrington Community School. We were unable to reach an agreement and the town has moved ahead with the Barrington Learning Center led by Michele Geremia, the Recreation Director."

Ms. Tinyk said she had hoped for a better conclusion to her 40-year involvement with the program, but has found solace with a new venture: a travel group she organizes for friends.

Recently she planned a trip to the Russian Icon Museum in Clinton, Mass., and this month she's leading a trip to an art exhibit of Winslow Homer's work in Gloucester, Mass. In December, Ms. Tinyk will lead her friends to a special exhibit of JMW Turner paintings that will be on display in Mystic, Conn.

Ms. Tinyk said she is very excited about the upcoming trips.