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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Longtime Valley educator moves on


Skip Bonuccelli, right, greets his granddaughter Kaylie Smith  and wife Barb Bonuccelli at St. Charles Catholic School, where he will be principal starting this fall. Both Bonucellis retired from Central Valley School District, where Skip was the spokesman and Barb a teacher.
 (Holly Pickett / The Spokesman-Review)

Skip Bonuccelli is spending the last days of August following the same routine he has for years. He’s attending meetings, fixing up his office and talking with students and parents in the halls of a school.

But what in the world is Skip Bonuccelli, the longtime Central Valley School District spokesman and educator, doing in north Spokane?

Bonuccelli has accepted the job of principal at St. Charles Catholic School and retired from Central Valley Monday after 31 years with the district. He said he looks forward to combining his experience and his faith at St. Charles this year, but he will miss the tight bonds he formed in the Spokane Valley.

“When you’re part of something for that long, you live it and you breathe it,” said Bonuccelli, 54. “The hardest part was leaving the people that I love there.”

Skip isn’t the only Bonuccelli making a big change. His wife, Barb, has resigned from her job as a teacher at Central Valley High School to be a “professional grandmother,” she said. Barb, 53, will care for the couple’s granddaughter when their daughter returns to her teaching job this fall.

“I loved my students,” Barb Bonuccelli said. “I think I learned more from them than they learned from me.”

Skip and Barb met as young teachers at Evergreen Junior High School in 1973.

Skip Bonuccelli moved to Central Valley High School in 1982 and taught history, English, journalism and yearbook during his career. The district hired him as its spokesman in 1988, a position that fit perfectly with his outgoing personality.

“He’s an intense guy,” said Greg Bever, publisher of the Journal of Business. “He’s got nine things going all the time.”

Bever recalled Bonuccelli’s attitude when the educator’s home burned down four years ago.

“He didn’t have any clothes or anything, but he didn’t let it bother him,” Bever said.

Bonuccelli has been a force behind school-funding campaigns, including the recent bond that rebuilt the district’s two high schools. He’s also active in the Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce and said his role with that organization won’t change.

Bonuccelli replaces Tom Feldhausen, who resigned from St. Charles in June, said teacher Carol Dever. Dever acted as interim principal this summer and said the school is thrilled to bring Bonuccelli’s marketing skills on board.

“We’ve been suffering from an enrollment decline in the last couple years,” she said. “Skip has some great ideas to get some kids in the door.”

Bonuccelli, a Catholic, said he feels working at St.Charles is “what I’m supposed to do now.”

“It gives us a chance to give back to the faith community that has supported us for years,” he said.

On Thursday, Bonuccelli sat on a bench outside his new office and reflected on the atmosphere at St.Charles. His daughter and son-in-law were painting his office, and a new colleague worked across the hall in an office Bonuccelli painted pink for her last week. A first-grade teacher covered the telephones, pitching in for a receptionist who was away.

As he transitioned from his Valley family to this one, Bonuccelli shook off the tears.

“How lucky can I get?” he asked.