CAZENOVIA — Weston Schools Principal Melissa Nigh is leaving the district to become principal of the Mellen School District in northern Wisconsin.

Nigh said she was planning on moving to northern Wisconsin before the September 2006 school shooting at Weston that claimed the life of Principal John Klang, but dealing with the event's aftermath delayed her.

"It was one of those things that I planned to do before the shooting at Weston. Then that kind of got put on the back burner," Nigh said. "My family and I have wanted to come up north for several years. We like to go snowmobiling."

Nigh was recruited by the Mellen district, located near the Wisconsin-Michigan border. The district has about 225 students and is smaller than Weston. "I applied and it all worked out," Nigh said.

To fill her post, District Administrator Tom Andres will become superintendent/principal of Weston until the district can find a permanent replacement. Andres said Nigh would be missed after working at the district for nearly two decades.

"She was an excellent principal," Andres said. "It will be a great professional move for her. We will really miss her."