After more than 30 years, John D'Amore is retiring as the business manager for the Moniteau School District.

Through hard work, dedication and commitment, John D'Amore has earned the respect of many from the Moniteau School District.

D'Amore served in the role of the district's business manager for more than 30 years. He is helping transition his replacement, Peg Burdick, into the job.

“I've been working with their transition more than anything,” he said. “After 30 years, I feel like there's this compelling need to make sure everything's transferred to somebody.”

However, his colleagues have said D'Amore leaves with well wishes from many in the district.

“John was the finest business manager I've ever had the privilege of working with,” said Michael Panza, school board president. “He's a gentleman who truly knows his craft.”

Panza was once a superintendant at Moniteau and multiple other districts in the past. He said D'Amore worked wonders with Moniteau's budget and always planned ahead.

“I think his legacy is that of a person of vision and a person who is always ahead of the game,” Panza said.

Board member Joann Duke said when D'Amore arrived more than 30 years ago, he inherited a financially distressed school district.

“It was a really sad situation,” she said. “And now, although we may not be the richest school district, we're in very stable financial shape, and it's all because of him.”

Duke said she also appreciated the commitment D'Amore showed by staying for such a long tenure with the district. She said his dedication further showed with his long hours and sleepless nights.

She said she had heard tales of D'Amore waking in the middle of the night with an idea, which he would work out at the kitchen table in the early hours of the morning.

“He was more than just a business manager,” Duke said. “He's a business superhero.”

Duke said she has become close with D'Amore not only through his work with the board but also his volunteer efforts for the Pennsylvania Academic Decathlon.

D'Amore said that about 25 years ago, he saw a need in the decathlon's scoring system, so he helped design a spreadsheet that would help automatically tally scores to get quicker results.

D'Amore has continued to oversee and tweak that scoring system, traveling to decathlon meets around the state, which he said he plans to do even after his retirement.

But even as he worked with the decathlon at the state level, he still followed and took great pride in Moniteau's competitors.

“It's hard for a small district like Moniteau to rise to that national level, but three times, while I've been here, we reached that level,” he said.

D'Amore also was called upon multiple times as acting superintendent while permanent replacements were found.

Both Panza and Duke said he excelled in that role and always acted in the interest of the students while rising to those calls.

“The true ultimate focus is the students and the education they're receiving,” D'Amore said.

D'Amore said he looks forward to the relaxation and relief of stress that will come with his retirement, but he will never forget his Moniteau family.

“There's a strong core community here,” D'Amore said. “I'm getting recognition cards from people who worked here 15 years ago. You wouldn't get that everywhere.”