The Wittenberg-Birnamwood School District did not have to look very far to find a new principal to preside over Birnamwood Elementary-Middle School.
The Wittenberg-Birnamwood School Board voted unanimously June 24 to promote Chris Kulas, who finished the past school year as a third-grade teacher at Birnamwood. Kulas will be receiving an annual salary of $75,000 following the promotion.
“We feel like he’ll do a great job in that role,” Superintendent Garrett Rogowski said. “He knows the staff, knows the community.”
Rogowski added that staff members at Birnamwood speak highly of Kulas, so he’s confident he’ll do a good job. Kulas is replacing Cole Irish, who left the district for a principal position at an elementary school in Stevens Point, closer to where he lives.
Kulas has been teaching in the school district for 17 years. He has also taught fifth grade at the school.
“I’ve kind of been entertaining it for several years,” Kulas said after the board meeting about becoming an administrator. “My family has been pushing me toward it. My wife has been pushing me toward it.”
Kulas had been exploring administrative positions in other school districts, but with Irish’s departure, he saw the opportunity to move up in the education world closer to home.
“I’ve got a lot of confidence going in,” Kulas said. “I know the staff really well. I’ve been in the community my whole life; I graduated from the district.”
Kulas said he hopes to acquire great staff members in addition to keeping the ones already here to keep the flow of learning going. Birnamwood received a four-star rating on the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction’s latest report card, showing the school is exceeding the state’s expectations.
“I want to keep working with the community,” Kulas said. “The community has been very supportive of the district. I think we’re heading in the right direction. If we keep doing what we’ve been doing, I know we have some areas of improvement, but overall we’re doing very well.”
Kulas will have an advantage principals coming in from outside the district don’t have: being able to know what all the staff members are capable of on day one.
“I know everybody there well,” Kulas said. “I’ve been able to cultivate those relationships for the last X number of years. I’ve also done custodial in the district. I’ve done technology in the district. I’ve worn a lot of different hats, so it should be an easy transition for me.”
Even with the advantage, Kulas anticipates there will be learning curves he’ll have to overcome. He noted he’ll be dealing with families from a different perspective as principal, compared with when he was a teacher.
“I think discipline in the classroom has never been a problem for me,” Kulas said. “This is just a bigger classroom.”
lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com
Kulas to succeed Irish as principal
