Puperi closes out term on UL board
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BELMONT -- The Union Local School District Board of Education wished board member Terry Puperi well on his final month in office. Puperi is closing out 12 years of service on the board.
Superintendent Zac Shutler recollected Puperi's passion for the job and devotion to students.
"We haven't always agreed, but we have mutual respect for one another and when working with a board member I think that's all you ask," he said.
Puperi looked back on his time with the board.
"Our decisions were based on one thing: Is it good for the student body?" he said. "It's our students. We're a business and they're our customers. ... You have to run it as a business, and some of our decisions that we've made throughout the years, I know you didn't like, but it was always for the students. That was my goal, that's why I got on the board. Thank you, I appreciate it. Thank you to the voters who kept me here for 12 years. I feel privileged and honored to serve."
He elaborated afterward.
"After I sat and reminisced on it, I decided not to run again. Twelve years is enough," he said. He added the board has accomplished much that he was proud to be a part of.
"When I first got on the board, one of the things that concerned me the most was our finances. That concerned everyone equally and we finally got those straightened out," he said.
"Academically, we are moving in the right direction. We've got a great curriculum now in place for all 12 grades," he said. "Our teachers are all on board."
He also mentioned the past election, where the public voted down a $62 million bond issue. Puperi reiterated that the facilities were in need of renovations and hoped that residents would see that should the board place the issue on the ballot again.
"I think our biggest challenge now is getting our buildings up to date," he said. "Our students learn differently now, and our buildings are not accommodating that."
He said learning in the future would be best accomplished in a collaborative, project-based atmosphere rather than "desks in a row."
"Their learning abilities have changed, and we have to change with them," he said. "Part of that change comes from having the facilities to make that change."
Puperi is a past teacher of Information Technology at Belmont College. He said he and his wife, Honey, are longtime district residents and wanted to raise their two there.
"I think we picked the best school district in the Valley," he said. "We felt that academically it was the most solid. ... Our son started as a freshman in high school ... our student body accepted him as if he's been here forever. ... We have some of the best students in the districts here. Our students are very kind. They're very passionate and they're very helpful."
He also reflected on how the district has changed over the years.
"The change is for the better, not for the worse," he said, adding the four superintendents who have served during his tenure brought their unique styles in moving the district forward. "Our report cards may not be the best in the valley, but it's showing a large improvement in the last year and a half."
Puperi said the staff is the district's best asset.
"We have teachers who are very dedicated. We have a staff who are very dedicated, and the dedication is all toward the students."
The other school board members commended Puperi's leadership, compassion and guidance.
New board member David Taylor will begin his term in January. He received 1,277 votes. Roe was also reelected with 1,875 votes.
In other matters, guests included Art Monahan of Bethesda, who taught at Barnesville Middle School and at the Belmont Correctional Institution for a total of 41 years. He inquired about Shutler's recent attendance of a superintendents retreat in Denver put on by the Advanced Education Research and Development Fund and focused on strategies to assist vulnerable students growing up in generational poverty, as well as minority students.
Shutler said some of the strategies included incorporating psychological skills and working with students at a young age to instill mental strengths, as well as incorporating student ideas into instruction to make it more relevant and impactful. Shutler said there were more than 30 superintendents present from far flung and diverse areas across the country, from California to Georgia, noting the common challenges of addiction and poverty impact students equally.
"Representing rural Belmont County was a unique experience, and I'm excited to share some of the information."
The board will hold an organizational meeting at 5 p.m. Jan. 11 at the district campus, 66779 Belmont Morristown Road, Belmont.