Hi everyone,

Yesterday I decided to send a note to an old acquaintance of mine. PAUL HAGERTY was superintendent of Springfield Public Schools when I served on the board of education from 1982-1988. He was an exceptional educator. During his term, from 1981-1992, we brought in the first computers for lower grades. We worked to pass a $28 million bond issue to add or improve a library for every elementary school in the district. The agenda for school board meetings sometimes ran more than 100 pages. I always took the day off before meetings to study the issues and make sure I understood them.

It was Paul’s idea to have a school foundation. After our terms on the board expired, THOM FIELD and I accepted Dr. Hagerty’s urging to get one started. Today the Springfield Foundation for Public Schools can look back over a proud history of supporting Missouri’s largest public school system, thanks to Paul J. Hagerty. The seeds of what would eventually become Ozark Technical Community College (OTC) were sown on Paul’s watch. I was privileged to serve for a time on that board, too. Today OTC has campuses in six communities throughout the Ozarks and serves more than 11,000 students each year.

When Paul left Springfield to take a post as superintendent in Seminole County, Florida, I received a call from the head of the search committee, telling me that Dr. Hagerty had recommended me as the interim superintendent until a permanent replacement could be found and asking if I would consider it. I said no, but it was a flattering gesture and I have sometimes wondered what would have happened if I had turned over the daily operations of my block company to someone else and pursued the opportunity.

In Florida, Paul Hagerty was so well respected that The Paul J. Hagerty High School in Oveido was named in his honor. The school’s mascot is the huskie, same as for my school in Springfield. Paul was 85 when he died a few weeks ago on May 20, 2025. https://www.eclipsefunerals.com/obituaries/paul-hagerty I only saw him once after he left Springfield but thought of him now and then over the years. Now I’ve waited too late to send him a note to exchange news. I wish I had acted sooner.