PW-S turnover to continue with two more retirements

The turnover in the highest ranks of the Port Washington-Saukville School District will continue with the retirements of two longtime administrators. 

Director of Special Services Duane Woelfel, who has been an administrator in the district for more than 19 years, and Director of Instruction Chris Surfus, who has worked in the district for 31 years, have announced they will retire at the end of the school year on June 30.

That will make Director of Business Services Mel Nettesheim, who took over for Jim Froemming in January, the longest-serving member of the senior administrative team at the district office with just a year-and-a-half under her belt at the end of the school year. 

Next in line is Supt. Dave Watkins, who took over for Michael Weber in July, and will have been at the helm of the district for a year when Woelfel and Surfus retire. 

“We’ll be the old-timers,” Watkins said. 

Woelfel and Surfus said they each have their own reasons for retiring, but none of them are because of the new administration. 

“I’m not leaving because of Dave or Mel,” Surfus said. “That’s something that Duane and I and Dave and Mel talked about. We don’t want people thinking that they are why we’re leaving.

“I totally respect both of them.”

Woelfel, 55, said he and Surfus talked about the impact their simultaneous departures would have on a district with new leadership and came to the conclusion that it is in good hands.

“There has been a big turnover in the district, but our new leadership is extremely bright and extremely articulate,” he said. “I’m convinced the future of this district is very bright.”

During the early stages of finding the successor to Weber, Woelfel, who is certified to be a superintendent, volunteered to lead the district on an interim basis, but the School Board declined his offer. 

He said that had no impact on his decision to retire. Rather, his young grandchildren and the stress of managing the pandemic lead to his decision.

“Like a lot of people, Covid gave me an opportunity to reflect, reprioritize and reset a little bit,” he said. “Our family has grown to include twin granddaughters in the last year, and we’ve learned that if it takes a village to raise a child, it takes an entire city to raise twins.”

Woelfel oversees the district’s Covid-19 response and said that duty has taken a toll on him.

“Covid put my hectic schedule into overdrive, and as our leadership team worked diligently to put protocols in place, I began to see the toll it was taking on me,” he said. 

Woelfel, a former principal and special education and vocal music teacher in the Northern Ozaukee School District in Fredonia, came to the Port-Saukville District in 2002 as principal of Port Washington High School. 

In 2011, he was named director of special services to succeed Gary Myrah.

Surfus, 66, who was a teacher before coming to the district as its gifted and talented coordinator in 1990, said after four decades in education, she’s ready to move on.

“I thought, ‘Holy moly, I’ve been in education for more than 40 years. What am I doing?’” she said. “I have three grandkids. I’m ready for the next adventure. It’s time, and I’m ready.”

Surfus said managing instruction during the pandemic has been an exhilarating challenge.

“It’s been exciting even though it was very challenging, and I love a challenge,” she said.

But now it is time for someone else to tackle those challenges, Surfus said, and with solid leaders in place she had no qualms about retiring.

“Mike Weber steadied the ship and now Dave (Watkins) is continuing that,” she said. “In addition, we have a really strong leadership team in this district.”

Watkins said it’s hard to argue with Woelfel and Surfus’ reasons for retiring.

“Both of them have done a wonderful job and are very well respected,” Watkins said. “They will be missed, but you can’t fault them for wanting to spend more time with their families.”

On Tuesday, the district began an aggressive hiring process with a survey distributed to staff members asking them to prioritize various characteristics of leaders.

Applications for the positions are due Dec. 17 and January will be spent screening and interviewing candidates, a process that could involve a broad cross section of people ranging from teachers and administrators to parents.

The final candidates are scheduled to be presented to the School Board on Feb. 14. The new administrators would officially begin work in the district on July 1.

“It’s going to be a whirlwind, but we’ll be ahead of other districts,” Watkins said. “By March, April and May, the number of candidates for these sorts of positions start falling off.”