Shona Vennevy did not have to wait long before landing in a new professional home. The former Kingston Community School District superintendent, who resigned her position earlier this month after expressing that the board was not providing the support she needed to lead effectively, has been hired by the Vassar Public School District as its director of finance.
The Vassar Board of Education approved the hire at its most recent meeting, bringing Vennevy into a role that aligns directly with the background she built before stepping into school leadership. Her transition from one district to another — and from the superintendent’s chair to a finance-focused administrative position — reflects both the depth of her experience and the practical reality of how talented school administrators move through Michigan’s educational landscape.
A Career That Started in the Classroom of Finance
Vennevy’s path to the Kingston superintendency was rooted in business administration rather than classroom instruction. She spent several years working for Kingston Schools in a business administrative capacity, building familiarity with the district’s financial systems, operational structures, and organizational culture before being selected as superintendent in July 2023. Her appointment at that time came as a replacement for Matt Drake, and it marked a relatively unusual trajectory — moving from the business side of a school district into its top leadership role.
That background in school finance and administration makes the Vassar hire a natural fit. A director of finance role draws directly on the skills and experience Vennevy developed over years of working within school district financial systems. Whatever the circumstances of her departure from Kingston, her professional qualifications for the Vassar position are not in question — and Vassar’s board clearly saw value in bringing someone with her specific combination of experience into that role.
Why She Left Kingston
Vennevy’s resignation from Kingston was not a quiet departure. She was direct about her reasons — she felt the board was not supporting her in her role as superintendent. That kind of public statement at the point of resignation is relatively uncommon in school leadership, where departures are often framed in neutral or collegial terms regardless of the underlying circumstances. The fact that she named lack of board support as her reason for leaving signals that the relationship between the superintendent and the board had deteriorated to a point where she no longer believed effective leadership was possible.
The governance relationship between a superintendent and a school board is one of the most critical and frequently fragile dynamics in public education. A superintendent operates as the chief executive of the district, but that authority flows from and is accountable to an elected board. When trust breaks down between those two entities — when the board micromanages, withholds confidence, or fails to provide the policy direction and support that allows a superintendent to lead — the consequences affect the entire district. Staff morale, long-term planning, and the ability to recruit and retain good people all suffer when leadership is unstable.
The Ripple Effects in Kingston
Vennevy’s resignation triggered a chain of events that Kingston’s board has been working to manage in the weeks since. Board member Jeff Long resigned as well in the aftermath of Vennevy’s departure — a move that suggests the situation surrounding her exit was significant enough to prompt one of Kingston’s own elected officials to step away from the board in response.
During a special meeting on March 16th, the board worked to fill Long’s vacant seat, selecting Dave Kolacz from a field of five candidates who had submitted their interest in serving. That selection gave the board the membership it needed to move forward with other pressing decisions — including finding leadership to replace Vennevy in the superintendent’s chair.
For that role, Kingston turned to Lawrence Kroswek of Harbor Beach, a veteran educator and administrator who has been hired as interim superintendent. The choice of an experienced interim rather than launching an immediate permanent search is a common and sensible approach for a district working through leadership transition. An interim superintendent provides stability and continuity while giving the board time to conduct a thoughtful permanent search without the pressure of operating without any leadership at the helm. Kroswek’s background as a veteran educator brings the kind of experience that helps a district maintain momentum during what can otherwise be a disorienting period of change.
What Both Districts Are Navigating
For Vassar, the Vennevy hire represents an addition of experienced school finance talent to its administrative team. Director of finance is a position that directly affects a district’s ability to manage its budget, pursue grants, maintain compliance, and make sound long-term financial decisions. Bringing in someone who has worked within school district financial systems for years — and who has seen the operational picture from the superintendent’s level as well — is a hire that should serve Vassar’s financial planning well.
For Kingston, the weeks ahead will be focused on stability. The board has a new member in Dave Kolacz, an interim superintendent in Lawrence Kroswek, and the work ahead of designing and executing a search for permanent leadership. That process takes time to do right, and rushing it rarely produces the outcome a district needs. The lessons of what happened with Vennevy’s departure — whatever the full picture of that situation turns out to be — should inform how Kingston’s board approaches the relationship with the next person who sits in the superintendent’s chair.
Kingston’s basketball programs have been in the news throughout the postseason this year — the girls team made a strong run through the district bracket before falling to Morenci in the March 17th tournament results, showing the kind of competitive character that reflects well on Kingston’s athletic programs even as the school community navigates administrative transition. And the broader conversation about school leadership quality and accountability in the Thumb region continues — the Bad Axe Public Schools superintendent evaluation earlier this year highlighted how valuable stable, well-supported leadership is to a district’s long-term trajectory, a lesson that is newly relevant in the context of what Kingston is working through now.
For Michigan school districts navigating superintendent transitions and board governance challenges, the Michigan Association of School Boards provides resources on superintendent search processes, board-superintendent relationship best practices, and governance training that helps elected board members fulfill their oversight role effectively. And for those following school finance leadership and the qualifications that Michigan school districts look for in director of finance roles, the Michigan Association of School Business Officials represents the professional community of school business administrators across the state and provides context on the expertise those positions require.
