BSD moves Zilkey into superintendent slot

The Brandon School Division board of trustees has promoted the assistant superintendent to the division’s top job.

Jon Zilkey will take over the role of superintendent and chief executive officer for BSD on July 1, the division announced on Wednesday.

He replaces Supt. Mathew Gustafson, who retires this summer after five years in the position.

Zilkey, who has been the division’s assistant superintendent for almost five years, said he’s excited to step into the new role and grateful for the opportunity.

“I’m very happy that the board has faith in me. I think Brandon School Division is a fantastic place to work,” Zilkey told the Sun. “We got great staff, great students and I’m fortunate to work with the people I do.”

Zilkey said having spent the last five years as assistant superintendent and the majority of his life in Westman have given him a chance to know the people in the community.

Zilkey grew up and graduated high school in Grandview before becoming a student at the University of Manitoba, where he completed bachelor degrees in science and physical education, as well as an after-degree in education.

He earned a master of education degree from Brandon University in the mid-2010s.

Zilkey said he has stayed in the area partly because it’s where his family is, but also because “there’s a sense of community everywhere you go.”

“It’s just a very comfortable place. The people are friendly, they help each other out, whether it’s Westman rural area … or Brandon itself,” he said.

Zilkey said knowing people from across Westman and being familiar with the area will help him “understand some of the decisions we have to make and some of the things we have to do in Brandon School Division.”

Zilkey has spent 30 years in education, and 10 of those working in senior administration, including superintendent for Swan Valley School Division and assistant superintendent for Park West School Division.

He was also a principal in Hamiota and served as a longtime educator at Elton Collegiate.

Zilkey said his experience being superintendent for SVSD “will be key” in navigating his new role.

“Working with the board, understanding the board dynamics, supporting the board in my role … during COVID times in Swan Valley will be invaluable.”

Between now and July 1, Zilkey said he will continue to serve as assistant superintendent, but he will also be trying to pick Gustafson’s brain “to get more of the nuances of that role.”

He said while it’s a similar role, there will be some large differences, the biggest being that final decisions often come down to the superintendent and the board of trustees.

“You make decisions as assistant superintendent that are certainly high level, but at the end of the day, every decision … if it’s a major one, it needs to go through the superintendent and the board.”

Zilkey said he doesn’t plan to enter the role and “change everything” but instead make incremental changes.

“I don’t know if I’ve got anything definitive right now,” he said. “I’d like to kind of sit back and take a look at things.”

He said one of the biggest challenges the division is facing right now is the budget and ensuring that BSD has all of the resources to support maintenance, student outcomes and the building of a new school.

Most importantly, he said he wants to make sure BSD is always improving.

“I’m a big believer that we always got to be improving. We never want to sit still.”

» sanderson@brandonsun.com