Brookfield schools need to fill three administrative roles

BROOKFIELD — The school district will have its hands full in the coming months as it tries to fill three senior leadership roles ahead of the 2022-23 academic year, following the announced departure of another administrator.

Since the start of school, three administrators have decided to leave the district, including Huckleberry Hill Elementary School Principal Melissa Labrosciano, Assistant Superintendent Maureen Ruby, and now, Director of Special Education Gina Wygonik.

Wygonik has commuted to Brookfield from her home in Madison for the past four years, and said the decision was all about work-life balance.

“She has been commuting almost 1.5 hours each way to Brookfield from Madison (that is approximately 40 hours per month in the car),” Superintendent John Barile wrote to the News-Times. “She has been offered a similar director position with the Waterford Public Schools, which is about 15 minutes from her home.”

Barile said that Wygonik had been an asset to the community and students. She initially served as one of the two original special education supervisors after the district reorganized its department in 2018, and then as the special education director following a promotion in 2019.

“She will be missed,”

Barile said.

Wygonik’s last day will be April 22. She starts her new job on May 9.

“It was probably one of the toughest decisions I have ever made,” Wygonik said. “I love working here. The staff is fantastic, the leadership here has been really supportive.”

A job posting for the special education director position is set to be posted this week, according to Barile.

“We will miss her — she's been a great leader for our district,” wrote school board chair Bob Belden.

Wygonik has already informed staff and parents whose children are in the special education programs of her mid-year departure, according to Barile. Wygonik said parents have been supportive thus far.

“They’ve been very understanding about my decision,” she said. “I can’t emphasize that enough that I have been very fortunate to work here.”

Filling several roles

Wygonik’s announcement comes on the heels of news that Assistant Superintendent Maureen Ruby is taking on a new role at Sacred Heart University in August.

Labrosciano, who announced her move over to Redding Elementary in late December, was slated to start in her new principal role at the end of January. Barile said that Redding provided a shorter commute for Labrosciano and offered a higher salary. The Huckleberry Hill assistant principal, David Pepsoski, is serving as interim principal for the remainder of the school year.

Barile added that the district is currently developing a transition plan for the administrative roles as Brookfield’s elementary schools consolidate at Candlewood Lake Elementary in the coming years.

Still, filling three senior leadership roles is challenging, “but we will work through it,” Belden said. The school board has also had its hands full deciding whether to keep or revoke the mask mandate this week after the state punted the decision to local school districts. The board ultimately voted to revoke the school mask mandate Monday night.

“Both Dr. Ruby and Mrs. Wygonik are working to give us as much time as possible to manage through these transitions, and at Huckleberry Hill School, we have an interim solution already in place,” Belden said.

Wygonik said she would help any interim or new director adjust to the demands of the position ahead of her departure.

“I will be working with them prior to my departure to make sure all the I’s are dotted [and] T’s are crossed,” she said. “I am working with Dr. Barile to have a seamless transition of the new person.”