By Tom Tolen / news@whmi.com


The Brighton Board of Education met this week and formally accepted the resignation of the former assistant superintendent for labor relations and personnel.

Sharon Irvine informed the board at its last meeting that she would be leaving at the end of the year to become the superintendent of the Southgate School District near Detroit. Irvine began her new duties in Southgate on Jan. 4th.

Irvine was hired by the Brighton Area Schools in July of 2019, coming to Brighton from the Warren Consolidated School District, where she was assistant superintendent, chief operating officer and human resources director for six years. Four out of those years in Warren, the Ypsilanti resident was also president of the Ypsilanti Board of Education. Before that, she was assistant superintendent for human resources in the Ypsilanti Public Schools and a building principal there, as well as in Plymouth.

Irvine was a finalist in 2013 for the superintendent’s position in Tecumseh and a candidate for superintendent in Livonia two years later. Last fall, she was one of three finalists for the position of Brighton superintendent, with Matthew Outlaw ultimately being chosen. Upon her selection as Southgate superintendent, Irvine said it was the right time in her career to take on the challenge of heading a school district. Irvine has a law degree from Wayne State University and is a candidate for a doctorate in Educational Leadership and Administration from Eastern Michigan University. She is also a member of the advisory board of the University of Michigan Museum of Natural History.

Brighton Superintendent Matthew Outlaw told WHMI Wednesday that he is actively searching for a replacement for Irvine and has already interviewed candidates for the position. In the interim, Outlaw, who has six years of experience in heading a district’s human resources dept., is handling the duties of the human resources director.