The five Brookfield Board of Education members, unable to reach a unanimous choice for a new superintendent, have decided to deviate from the timeline they had originally set and will not hire a new superintendent on Wednesday, May 22.
“We are discussing the new timeline in executive session tomorrow,” board President Ronda Bonekovic said of the board’s regular monthly meeting.
There is no legal requirement that the board be unanimous in its decision on a superintendent, but “not too many people would take a superintendent position without the full support of the board that hired you,” Bonekovic said.
“I’m sure there may be a candidate that would take the challenge but not sure how many would, to be honest, and especially in a divided community, too,” she said.
Bonekovic said the search process has been difficult on every member of the board.
“People being threatened, relatives of board members being treated bad and disrespected is not the answer,” she said. “This is not an easy job for any one of us.”
The board members have been unfairly made out “like we had something against certain candidates and that (is) so far from the truth,” Bonekovic said.
“I was also disappointed in people making comments and character assassinations on other candidates that they really didn’t know,” she said. “Only what they found on the internet, without looking into all the facts about each, that was made to look like they were unfit. Maybe it’s because they weren’t local, and I get it.”
“I also get the support of a candidate,” Bonekovic said, referring to the rallying of support for Brookfield Middle School Principal Toby Gibson, who made the final five but was not granted a second interview.
“That’s great, and I think people need to stand up for what they believe in,” she said. “Maybe handling it a different way would have been better.”
The board will hold a public work session at 6:30 p.m. May 22, with the meeting where they vote on agenda items following at 7 p.m.