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Waunakee Community School District Superintendent, Randy Guttenberg, Announces Decision to Retire After the 2023-2024 School Year

Waunakee, Wisconsin (January 9, 2023) – On Monday, January 9, 2023, the Waunakee Community School District Board of Education received formal notification from Randy Guttenberg, Superintendent for the Waunakee Community School District, that he has made the decision to retire at the conclusion of 2023-2024 school year.

In his letter to the School Board, Mr. Guttenberg states, “I was hired for this position in 2008, and over the last fifteen years have developed a strong relationship with this District, the staff, families, and the community. It is out of this respect that I want to provide you ample notice of my decision to retire from the Waunakee Community School District at the conclusion of the 2023-2024 school year. By providing you eighteen months advanced notice, I feel confident that a managed transition plan can be put in place to maintain stability in the school district, establish a well-articulated hiring process, and solicit the best candidates for this position.”

Randy Guttenberg’s leadership legacy is a learning environment focused on students and fueled by relationships and open communication. His vision of a team approach to operating a school district created a people-first environment of caring for all.

Joan Ensign, President of the Board of Education, shared the following comments, “On behalf of the Board of Education, I accept Randy’s notice to retire and want to thank him for giving us the long lead time to secure his replacement. I also want to thank his family for the sacrifices they have made to allow him to do the excellent work within the district for the last 15 years. Hopefully they can have many years together in retirement.

I want to acknowledge some of Randy’s contributions to the school and community. Randy fostered a collaborative approach to leadership in the district, including staff and community in decision making. These decisions always included an underlying mantra “what is best for students”. Above all, Randy cared deeply about each student and family  in our district.
Randy established a long-range vision in many critical areas of the district, including facilities, resulting in successful passage of two major referendums. Under his tenure, the community opened a new intermediate school in 2016, will welcome a new elementary school in 2024, and a new middle school opening in 2026.  

I am proud to have had this opportunity to serve on the board alongside Randy and am grateful that the district will have his leadership through the 2023-24 school year.”

The School Board will establish a process for hiring the next superintendent that will include stakeholder engagement and involvement. They will start the planning process this spring to ensure that the process can be articulated to the community and staff, so the district is positioned to enter the hiring market as early as possible to engage with the best candidates for the school district.

The School Board looks forward to working with Mr. Guttenberg over the next eighteen months, thanks him for his dedicated service to the community, and is committed to keeping  the staff, parents, and the community informed as the hiring process for the next superintendent begins and moves forward.

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