The Kenosha Unified School District is saying goodbye and thank you to Joe Mangi for his 43-years of service, including stepping out of retirement to hold down the superintendent’s job the last 3-years because of a resignation. School Board President Pam Stevens suggested a simple thank you is not enough. “This community owes you a debt of gratitude for what you have done in the last three years,” said Stevens. “They have no clue what you have accomplished in this building.” Mangi thanked those responsible for an engraved rock outside the district headquarters with one of his favorite sayings: “practice peace.”
“I showed it to my wife, brought her back here the other day, I said ‘hey Patty, look at this, look how serene it looks, we could be buried here.’ That remark was not the coolest thing to say.” Mangi retired as a Kenosha high school principal, came back to lead a grade school, retired again, but agreed to be superintendent until a new leader was hired. Doctor Michelle Hancock takes over July 1st.
Janet Hoff, WRJN