Pannunzio prioritizes safety, transparency in D60 board campaign
After teaching in the district for 21 years, Susan “Sue” Pannunzio is running for the Pueblo School District 60 Board of Education.
With 33 total years of teaching experience, Pannunzio began her career as a vocational teacher at Grand Junction High School. She relocated to Pueblo after 12 years and took a fiveyear break from teaching to spend time with her children, before returning as an elementary school reading coach in Pueblo D60.
“Being on the school board was never something I planned to do, but over this past year, I felt a calling to step up and serve,” Pannunzio said during an Oct. 5 candidate forum. “The education our children receive during their K-12 years shapes them for the rest of their lives. There’s not much more in life that’s more important than that.”
What Pannunzio’s priorities would be if elected
If elected to the board, Pannunzio told the Chieftain that school safety would on the “very tip top” of her list of priorities.
Pannunzio supports continued improvements to safety protocol and the installation of school resource officers at school facilities districtwide. In addition to prioritizing safety, Pannunzio said she looks to “uphold transparency” on district matters, including curriculum, policy and finances.
“I believe most parents just want to know the what and the why — what teachers are teaching and why they are teaching it,” Pannunzio said during the forum. “They also want to know that what their children are learning does not undermine their moral, ethical, religious, or ideological views or values.”
Pannunzio told the Chieftain it is also important to make sure schools are adequately staffed and that teachers have adequate resources, including opportunities for professional development.
More about Pannunzio’s background
In 1983, Pannunzio received a bachelor’s degree in vocational education from Colorado State University in Fort Collins. Ten years later, she received her master’s degree in curriculum and instruction.
While with Pueblo D60, Pannunzio taught at Hellbeck Elementary School, Belmont Elementary School, Highland Park Elementary School and South Park Elementary School. She retired from teaching full-time in 2020, but has worked part-time for Pueblo D60 since 2021.
Pannunzio has been married to her husband Augie for 33 years. Their two children, who attended Pueblo D60 schools, are now adults.
One of nine Pueblo D60 candidates on this year’s November ballot, Pannunzio hopes to serve a four-year term in one of the three board seats currently occupied by Barb Clementi, Tommy Farrell and Sol Sandoval. Both Farrell and Sandoval are running for reelection.
A fourth board seat, currently occupied by Anthony Perko, also is up for reelection. However, that seat is a two-year position for which Perko and fellow candidate Brian Cisneros are competing.