Board backs two-year contract offer to principal from New Berlin West

In a process that lasted nearly a year, the Northern Ozaukee School Board has made its selection for superintendent.

The School Board emerged from a closed session Monday and voted unanimously to offer a two-year contract to Blake Peuse.

The offer is contingent on Peuse being released from his contract with the New Berlin School District, where he is currently the principal of New Berlin West High School and Middle School.

The New Berlin board is expected to consider releasing him from the final year of his contract within the next week.

The two-year Northern Ozaukee contract has a salary of $120,000 plus benefits.

District officials said Peuse has verbally accepted the contract offer. He would begin working for the district July 1.

Peuse will succeed Bill Harbron, who resigned as administrator at the end of the last school year.

Unable to come up with a quick replacement, the district hired retired Random Lake Supt. Joseph Gassert to serve as interim superintendent.

Several rounds of earlier interviews failed to result in the selection of a new administrator.

Gassert was a member of the team that interviewed the latest finalists, and he said those who met Peuse were universally impressed.

“After meeting with the administrators and committee, Mr. Peuse was the clear No. 1 choice,” Gassert said.

Gassert said Peuse’s current school has more students than are enrolled in all the Northern Ozaukee schools.

Peuse has been principal at New Berlin West since 2009. Before that, he was principal of Brown Deer Middle School for three years, principal of Deer Creek Intermediate School in St. Francis for two years, assistant middle school principal in Waupun for three years, and a physical education teacher and athletic director at Asa Clark Middle School in Pewaukee.

Peuse has a master’s degree in education and earned his state superintendent certification in 2011.

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