Skaneateles Schools Superintendent Phil D’Angelo has been hired as the new superintendent of the Wantagh Union Free School District, Nassau County, on Long island, N.Y., and will leave his current position in Skaneateles by the end of June.
The Wantagh Board of Education approved D’Angelo for the job at its May 2 meeting, with an effective date of employment as July 1. His salary will be $227,000.
“It’s been an honor and a privilege to work at Skaneateles. We’ve done a lot of great things, but this opportunity availed itself for me. I think it will be a good match and I’m up for the challenge,” D’Angelo told the Skaneateles Press.
D’Angelo has been superintendent of Skaneateles CSD for nearly seven years, and in that time the district has won numerous regional and state accolades for its academic, arts and athletic programs.
“Mr. D’Angelo has led our district for nearly seven years, and the last two to three of those have been some of the most difficult fiscal times for school systems in New York state since the 1980s. Phil did a good job helping our district reduce its costs while maintaining our programs at a very high level,” Skaneateles Board of Education President Evan Dreyfuss told the Skaneateles Press. “During his tenure in Skaneateles, Phil has done many things to help our district, including growing and funding our music program, initiating our student internship program that all juniors can take advantage of, and helping to right-size our administrative staff and certain parts of our curriculum. The Wantagh district is a good one, and a large one, and we wish Phil much success.”
The Wantagh Union Free School District is about twice as large as Skaneateles, with 3,100 students, five schools and an approximately $70 million budget. Skaneateles, by comparison, has 1,600 students, four schools and an approximately $30 million budget.
D’Angelo has not officially submitted his resignation to the school board at this time, although it is probable he will do so at the next school board meeting on May 15, Dreyfuss said.
After D’Angelo leaves, the school board most likely will hire an interim superintendent to run the district while the board conducts a statewide search for a successor, Dreyfuss said.
He said he and the rest of the board have “extreme confidence that the current administrative staff, most with from 20 to 40 years of experience, will be able to work with the interim superintendent to keep Skaneateles’ academic performance at a high level.”
Jason Emerson is editor of the Skaneateles Press. He can be reached at [email protected].
