After 31 years as a teacher and administrator in the Campbell Union High School District, June 29 will mark his final day as the principal of Westmont High School; he is retiring from the district. A day later, he and his wife, Cathy, will begin a new stage of life together in Las Vegas.

Serpa, 55, admits the transition is a bittersweet one for him. After all, he's spent more than three decades working in the district, and before that, he was a Campbell Union High School District student. He graduated from Del Mar High School in 1967.

"Probably for the first time, I'll enjoy not being someone's boss," Serpa says of his impending retirement. "My wife thinks I will miss being a boss and solving problems, but I don't believe that. I'll miss interacting with the staff, parents and students."

He says that over the years, he's received offers to work for other school districts, but he dismissed them because "this is my home."

As a principal and teacher, he's spent nearly a third of his district career at Westmont. He started at Westmont in 1990 as a teacher and football coach and later became the school's dean of students. He became the school's principal in 2000.

Serpa came to the district in 1973, fresh out of college with a degree in physical education from San José State University. As a young educator, he taught physical education, social sciences, social studies and special education at various schools within the two Campbell school districts, including Leigh, Prospect and Camden high schools and Blackford Elementary School.

He'd hadn't planned on becoming a school principal, but while serving as vice principal at Prospect High School during the late 1990s, the Westmont principal position became available. After receiving encouragement from colleagues, including former Westmont Principal and current Campbell Union High School District Superintendent Rhonda Farber, he interviewed for the position and got it. Farber had joined the district in 1972, one year before Serpa.

"As colleagues, I've come to respect Bob," Farber says. "He's been so dedicated to this school. The faculty come to him for guidance, parents respect him, and he juggles the needs of the students."

Farber says Serpa is a thoughtful decision maker who has brought a good balance to Westmont. And, she says one of his most positive qualities as a principal is his ability to "present an even front" to students and parents, when on the inside, he may be going through turmoil as he makes difficult decisions.

"He is good at comforting people," she says. "It almost feels like we are losing a member of the family. I know he's made his mark on the district."

At press time, a new Westmont principal had not been named.

Farber adds, "I wish him 30 more years of health and happiness. I'll miss him."

But she doesn't expect him to become a total stranger to district functions. Serpa already plans to visit the South Bay every other month to visit his daughter. And while he is in town, he will occasionally visit Westmont for the "fun events" like football games or drama productions.

But before he leaves, he still has Westmont's graduation to prepare for. He hopes to leave the school and its students in a better position than when he became the principal. "One of my goals was to make this more of a community school," he says. "I also wanted the students to realize this was not my school, it is theirs."

When he became the school's principal, he recalls that many people, including parents and faculty, asked him what his vision was for the school. He told them the vision should not come from him, but from the parents and students.

"The more we listen to what the students have to say, the more we know how to support them," he says.

Westmont dean of students Mike DiGrazia says it is this type of foresight that has made Serpa valuable to the school. He says Serpa is a good leader who has made the students and teachers proud to be part of the high school.

"He gets people to bring out their best self," DiGrazia says. "He's always been very positive."

DiGrazia has known Serpa since 1972, when they formed a friendship. The two have duck hunted together, and DiGrazia plans to visit Serpa in Las Vegas.

"He has worked to improve the environment at Westmont," DiGrazia says. "He's very organized and prepared, and people really respond to that."

DiGrazia said it's hard to believe that in three weeks Serpa will be gone from Westmont and will be basking in the Vegas sun.

But Serpa can't wait. He's excited to work on his "mediocre" golf game. He also has travel plans to explore Portugal, Mexico and the Dominican Republic.

And, if he decides he can't stay away from his old career, he's been offered a position at the University of Las Vegas to supervise student teachers, although he isn't convinced he will return to a career in education.

"Time will tell," he says. "I will probably want to do something different. But I've been very fortunate and very lucky in a lot of ways. It will be hard to say goodbye to Westmont."