Gary Peccola was appointed to the school board in 2005 following the death of Ronald Ganschinietz. He successfully ran for election to a two-year term in 2007. In 2009, 2013, 2017 and 2021, he was re-elected to four-year terms. Gary served on the budget committee from 2005-2009 and in 2009 was elected President of the board and has served in that office since then. Gary achieved Master School Board Member status through the Illinois Association of School Boards in 2009 and has maintained that status each year since. He received the IASB Fellow Award in 2016.
Gary and his wife, Debbie, both graduated from CHS in 1974. Gary earned a Bachelor of Science degree from SIU-E in 1978. He is a former U.S. Air Force Captain and served four years on active duty. After leaving the service, he started his own construction company and worked in residential construction and development for over 30 years.
Serving on the board has been a very positive experience for him and he believes that the Unit 10 staff is the district’s greatest strength. He visits all of the schools in the district and sees first-hand the dedication and professionalism that is demonstrated on a daily basis at all levels in the district. One of Gary’s primary goals is to increase public awareness of the many positive opportunities offered by Unit 10 as well as the unique challenges the district faces. He is looking forward to continuing to serve on the board and is committed to helping make the district the best it can be.
Mr. Peccola completed his Professional Development Leadership Training and Performance Evaluation Reform Act (PERA) Training for School Board Members on November 22, 2013.