GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – At their meeting on Monday night, Green Bay’s Board of Education welcomed their incoming superintendent to the district.
“This has been a goal of mine for my entire career,” incoming superintendent Michael Hernandez told reporters. “I’m so excited to represent this district.”
In a 6-1 vote on Friday night, the Board of Education selected Hernandez as its next superintendent. He is the current assistant superintendent of the Appleton Area School District, and Green Bay board members said that his previous experience in large, urban school districts was one of the reasons he stood out among other candidates.
The other finalist was Michael Trimberger Jr., who is the superintendent of the Random Lake School District.
Hernandez said that when he received the call on Friday night that the Green Bay Board of Education selected him, he felt a wide range of emotions. He said he called his family members immediately and was proud to be in a position to take a job like this.
“All those students that need role models as well, this gives me an opportunity to be there (for them), he said. “Being a Hispanic male in this position. There’s not many in the country, and I’m now part of that.”
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The Green Bay Area Public School district has had major turnover at its top leadership position over the last few years.
Since former superintendent Michelle Langenfeld retired after the 2019-2020 school year, the district has had one superintendent retire after less than two years on the job because of health reasons and another one resign after making controversial comments on a talk radio show.
Since 2020, Vicki Bayer has served as superintendent in an interim role on two separate occasions. Hernandez said he’s committed to Green Bay.
“Stability that is the goal, to be here until I retire,” he said.
He also said he’d be a superintendent for all students and families in a district where the majority of the student population (about 65 percent) represents minority groups.
“I’m a firm believer that representation matters, and I think I’m a voice for advocating for all sorts of students and all sorts of families,” he said.
Hernandez said the biggest challenge he anticipates facing when he takes over as superintendent is figuring out how to balance the budget. Coincidentally, the budget was on the board’s agenda on Monday night.
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According to interim superintendent Vicki Bayer, the district technically has a balanced budget for the 2026-2027 school year. However, keeping the budget balanced is contingent on not adjusting salaries for the cost of living and not giving raises.
In an ideal world, Bayer said they would want to adjust salaries to match the cost of living and give raises, meaning that they’d still like to cut about $5 million from the 2026-2027 budget to make those two things workable.
Bayer presented board members with options for potential cuts and asked that by the next meeting, they provide district staff with guidance on which cuts they’re most comfortable doing. Bayer noted that the district has made several cuts to balance previous budgets and that these are always extremely difficult decisions.
“We are looking at the reductions not because we like to do this,” Bayer said. “We are doing this because there’s a gradual enrollment decline, unfunded mandates, and inadequate state funding from the state legislature.”
“Working with our community, problem-solving together and still reaching out to our state legislators,” Hernandez said when asked about his approach to handling the budget.
Bayer will remain the interim superintendent until she retires at the end of June. Hernandez would take over on July 1. Until then, he said he’s committed to finishing his work as the Appleton Area School District assistant superintendent and said he’ll take evenings and weekends to prepare for his new role in Green Bay.
