Just two days after accepting the resignation of MacArthur Elementary School principal Tony Gonzalez, the Germantown School District has found his replacement.
The Germantown School Board approved Steve Behrendt to be the school’s next principal. His first official day in the district will be Sept. 2, according to a Aug. 28 news release from the Germantown School District.
Behrendt was previously the principal and director of teaching and learning in the K-8 Richmond School District. He also has experience as a teacher and associate principal.
Behrendt was one of 40 applicants who applied for the position over the last three weeks. He was one of four finalists after advancing through two phases of the screening process. Interview teams consisted of MacArthur Elementary parents, PTA officials, teachers, support staff, school board members and district-wide administration, the news release said.
The district accepted the resignation of Gonzalez Aug. 26, approving it in open session after nearly half an hour of deliberation in closed session.
After the Aug. 26 meeting, district superintendent Chris Reuter told parents in a letter sent after the meeting that Gonzalez chose to resign without an evidentiary hearing in front of the board. There was a pre-termination hearing that was scheduled before the closed session. However, that hearing was canceled after Gonzales submitted his resignation letter at about 3 p.m. Aug. 25. Reuter’s letter did not say why Gonzalez resigned.
In his resignation letter Aug. 25 to the board that the Journal Sentinel obtained, Gonzalez said, in part, “This is not the path I envisioned, nor the way I hoped my service to Germantown would conclude.” He did not share any reasons for his resignation in the letter.
At the Germantown School Board’s Aug. 19 meeting, parents demanded answers from the school about Gonzalez after he had been put on a leave of absence.
Contact Alec Johnson at (262) 875-9469 or alec.johnson@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @AlecJohnson12.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Germantown School District hires Steve Behrendt as next MacArthur principal after resignation by Tony Gonzalez
Reporting by Alec Johnson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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