UPDATE: Lakeville Schools Superintendent Gary Amoroso Retiring July 1, Taking Role With MASA

After more than 10 years leading Lakeville’s public schools as its superintendent, Gary Amoroso is retiring in July to become executive director of the Minnesota Association of School Administrators.

Amoroso, 55, informed district staff of his plans to retire in an email on Tuesday, but it wasn’t until Wednesday that his new role with MASA was announced.

Amoroso said he has mixed feelings about the move.

“Lakeville is my home. Lakeville will remain my home. I have been unbelievably fortunate to have developed lifelong friendships over the course of the past ten years,” he said in a phone interview. “But this is an opportunity of a lifetime.”

Amoroso has spent 34 years in public education, but moving to MASA is exciting, he says, because he can advocate for children all over the state.

“It’s a unique opportunity and I’m excited,” he said. “But there are challenges—challenges we all face in education. But I think that our state supports children and education and I’m excited begin this new role working on behalf of the children in Minnesota.”

MASA is a professional organization made of more than 500 school superintendents, directors of special education, central office administrators, and others. In addition to Amoroso, Barb Knudsen, Lakeville’s director of teaching and learning is also a member.

According to its website website, MASA advocates for children by lobbying the legislature, department of education and governor, and also provides members with professional development opportunities, and other benefits.

Amoroso currently serves as an executive board member for MASA and is the organization’s past president, having served as its president from 2009-2010.

“This is my professional organization,” Amoroso said. “And this is the kind of opportunity that won’t be available for me again.”

Amoroso will replace Dr. Charles Kyte, who is retiring after 11 years in the role of MASA executive director. The hiring process to replace Kyte began in January and Amoroso was selected late last week.

“I’ve had 34 wonderful years in public education and I’m so proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish in Lakeville,” he said. “But this is the type of opportunity that will allow me to continue working on behalf of children in a different way.”

Amoroso said his decision to leave Lakeville, after what he acknowledges has been on of the most difficult years of his career, is coincidence.

“Sometimes in our lives we cannot control the timing of things,” he said.

Earlier this year, Lakeville’s School Board for the next biennium, which included eliminating nearly 100 teachers and .

Amoroso’s collegue with MASA and its current President, Jeff Olson, thinks Amoroso will fit in well.

“These are not easy times for educators,” Olson said in the press release, “and choosing a leader for our statewide organization is a critical task that can have a great deal of impact on the quality of education in our state. We feel confident that Gary has the skills, experience, and enthusiasm necessary to lead, not only MASA, but the public dialogue about our schools and our children’s future.”

Amoroso said he’ll be making the move official on March 22 when he gives the school board his retirement letter.

In the email he sent to staff Tuesday, Amoroso was thankful for his time in Lakeville.

“It is with mixed emotions that I will be tendering my letter of retirement from the Lakeville Area Public Schools,” Amoroso wrote. “I have had the joy of serving as your superintendent for the past 10 years. Thank you for all that you have done to meet the needs of the children of this district. You are truly a dedicated and caring staff.”

Amoroso has led Lakeville Schools since 2001. Prior to working for Lakeville, Amoroso was superintendent in Pewaukee, WI, for five years, and was also a district director and secondary school principal in Wisconsin.

In addition to serving as president and past-president for MASA, Amoroso also served as the organization’s Federal Advocacy Committee Co-Chair, travelling to Washington, D.C., to support MASA’s federal policy interests in Congress. Since 2005, he has also volunteered his time and expertise as a Trustee to the MASA Foundation, an organization that supports the development of professional practice in school leadership.

Prior to working for Lakeville, Amoroso was superintendent in Pewaukee, WI, for five years, and was also a district director and secondary school principal in Wisconsin. In 1977, Amoroso began is carrer in education as a social studies teacher in the Waukesha, WI, school district.

In 2009, Amoroso dabbled with leaving Lakeville schools to take similar roles with other metro area school districts. In April 0f 2009, Amoroso was among four finalists for the role of superintendent with the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan School District, and one of six finalisits for the Anoka-Hennepin School District superintendent in January 2009.

Amoroso currently makes $183,401 a year.