Brooks Elementary School gets a new principal

Former Windsor student assumes the position vacated by
her old principal
by NATHAN WRIGHT, Staff Writer
When Brooks Elementary School lost Principal Joe Taylor to
retirement, they lost an administrator who was born and bred in
Windsor. When they hired his replacement, they got another.
Shannyn Vehmeyer, the school’s new principal, never thought she
would end up as a principal in Windsor when she was going to school
there. “I’m from Windsor, I grew up in Windsor, Mr. Taylor was my
principal,” said Vehmeyer. “I always wanted to be a teacher. I
didn’t exactly plan to come back to Windsor.”
At age 33,Vehmeyer is the youngest administrator in the Windsor
Unified School District. She plans on sticking around for the long
run.
“I intend to stay in administration,” she said. But just a few
years ago, she had no such plans.
“I didn’t go into this planning on being a principal,” she said.
One of the ways a teacher can increase his or her earning power is
by getting more formal education, so Vehmeyer decided to go back to
Sonoma State University and earn a masters degree. On the advice of
her peers, Vehmeyer decided to go after an administration
credential, which she completed last year.
Working at Brooks as a reading teacher, Vehmeyer was given more
and more responsibilities as she continued her education.
“Mr. Taylor gave me a lot of responsibilities,” she said. “We
worked side by side for two or three years.”
When Taylor decided to retire, the district approached Vehmeyer
and offered her the position. “This was a logical selection, with
her history in the district,” said WUSD Director of Human Resources
Loyal Carlon. “The staff were appreciative of the chance to work
with someone who knows what they’re all about.”
Vehmeyer will be working as a temporary principal this year, but
if she does well in the position and the district isn’t forced to
cut the position due to further budget cuts, she will be hired in a
permanent role next year. The district will save approximately
$20,000 this year compared with Taylor’s salary, because of his
seniority.
“The expectation is that (Vehmeyer) will continue with the
position,” said Carlon. “We’ve set it up like this in case of
future budget considerations. We have the asset of a terrific
person in our district who knows the school and can hit the ground
running.”
Those who are already missing Taylor will be happy to know that
he’ll be back as principal for two months this fall while Vehmeyer
has her second child.