A new chapter for smoky is starting as principal Chuck Puga is retiring.

“I’ve been doing this for 33 years. And so I just think it’s time for a new challenge,” Puga said.

Puga has been principal at Smoky for seven years, so it has been a long time since the school had to get a new principal so the process is quite complicated.

“The candidates for the new principal are selected by a committee that’s called a paper screening committee, which is to say that candidates apply, and then a group of educators, district personnel, community members, come together to review those applications,” assistant principal directing the process Kersten Mullan said.

The screening process normally takes six to eight weeks to finish, now we know what the process is but, what should we hope for in a new principal.

“I really want our next principal to be somebody who is somewhat similar, who has an open door policy, somebody who’s willing to listen to the concerns of students and teachers, and take those seriously,” our campus administrator Bruce Jones said.

Mullan and Jones have been working with Puga for years, “he always has his door open and is willing to have conversations with people. So I respect the way that he has been the principal and the work that he’s done.” Jones said.

“I hope Smoky continues to be successful and continues to make sure that it provides opportunities for all our students,” Puga said.