MANCHESTER - The principal at Gossler Park School has resigned to take the lead role of the elementary school in Brentwood, a job he said he sought after several of his colleagues received layoff notices.

Ron Kew, who had headed up Gossler for two years, said he was not pink slipped this year. But that was only because of the unexpected retirement of another elementary principal, he said.

Four years ago, Kew had received a layoff notice, which was rescinded when school leaders worked out a budget.

“Each year we go through this — four or five months of trying to make teachers and administrators feel they're important and they're doing good work,” Kew said. “It's getting harder and harder. Each year there's this threat they won't come back.”

Kew's departure comes as city and school leaders grapple with budget issues that have prompted the district to issue 163 layoff notices to teachers, principals and other staff.

Superintendent Tom Brennan said he was disappointed for the school district, because Kew was a quality administrator.

He said he knows of no other recent teacher or principal resignations, but principals have been filling out more recommendations than in the past.

“I'm sure people are applying; they should be applying because of the uncertainty here,” Brennan said.

Kew stressed that the staff at Gossler Park is top-notch, and Brennan was very supportive.

Kew has been with the Manchester schools for 11 years, three as an assistant principal at Wilson School and two as Gossler Park principal. He was installed at Gossler Park as part of the School Improvement Grant program, a three-year federal grant designed to transform schools.

Under Kew, the school reintroduced the Responsive Classrooms social education program, brought in consultants and implemented a new teacher evaluation system.

NECAP scores were up in all three subject areas, and Gossler reached safe-harbor designation for reading, the only one of the eight Title 1 elementary schools in the city to do so.

“He just fit a perfect bill. He was a man of experience, a man of energy,” said Michael Morgan, the superintendent of SAU 16, which oversees the Swasey Central School in Brentwood.

He said Brentwood officials visited Gossler Park and were impressed with the support that Kew had from faculty and his interface with students.

He said Swasey Central consistently meets adequate yearly progress. Kew will start at $95,000 a year, up from $83,000 salary in Manchester, although the Brentwood job requires him to work most of the summer, Morgan said.

Gossler Park is not the only Manchester school now looking for a principal.

Other principals whose resignations or retirements have already been accepted are Kathleen Turner, who was hired at Parker-Varney School the same year as Kew; Barry Albert, longtime principal at McLaughlin Middle School; and Elinor Murphy at Beech Street School.