Michael Nagy may have cast a record number of "no" votes in nine months on the Moon Area school board, but when career demands drew him away from the district, he had to say a reluctant "yes."

"Aug. 31 will be my last day as a board member," Mr. Nagy announced at Monday's board meeting. "I'm going to be moving out of the Moon school district."

He said that despite his oppositional stance -- he has voted against almost every aspect of the district's construction project, along with the financing to pay for it and the contractual details surrounding it -- his opinion of other board members has come a long way since his days as an outside critic.

"I believe this is a good group of people determined to do what it thinks is right," he said. "I may not always agree -- I may almost never agree -- but I do believe this group is trying to do the right thing."

Several board members honored Mr. Nagy for his efforts and the questions he raised.

"I appreciate your passion; I appreciate your dedication," Rosemarie Varsanik said. "We may disagree on most things, but I respect your beliefs."

"Somewhere there's a community that's going to win," said Jeff Bussard, who often voted with Mr. Nagy. "Somewhere there's a community that's going to be better for having Mr. Nagy and his family as part of it."

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