Elko school honors slain second-grade teacher
ELKO — A Northern Nevada teacher who was the victim of a murder-suicide two years ago is being honored by her school.
A $50,000 playground for first- and second-graders has been completed in memory of Stacie Stefka at Southside Elementary School in Elko.
She taught second grade at Southside for a few years.
Sheriff’s investigators said her husband killed the 42-year-old teacher in November 2011 before he took his own life.
Third-grade teacher Salli McDermott told the Elko Daily Free Press that “a quiet area with trees” was added behind the playground because Stefka loved trees.
She said it includes a picnic table that will feature a plaque with Stefka’s name, and the entire area will be dedicated to her at a future ceremony.
Stefka also worked for the Elko County School District in West Wendover and at Northside Elementary in Elko. In 2008, she won the Office Max Teacher of the Year award.
