By Ashley M. Casey
Staff Writer
Matt McDonald is here to stay.
The Baldwinsville Central School District Board of Education voted unanimously Jan. 9 to appoint McDonald superintendent of schools. McDonald has served as acting superintendent since the April 2016 resignation of David Hamilton.
“I feel very excited. I feel honored and blessed that the Baldwinsville board of ed selected me for the position,” McDonald told the Messenger.
McDonald’s appointment is effective Jan. 1, 2017, through June 30, 2020. According to his contract, which the Messenger obtained via Freedom of Information Law request, his salary for 2017 is $170,000.
McDonald began as an assistant principal at Durgee Junior High School in 2007, became assistant superintendent of human resources in 2009 and was named deputy superintendent in 2014. He served as acting superintendent once before in 2014 after the retirement of the late Jeanne Dangle.
“He’s been a long-term employee and has had an excellent record,” BOE President Victor Jenkins told the Messenger.
Jenkins said three things about McDonald stood out to the board as they considered his appointment.
“No. 1, Matt has always shown a deep concern for all the students and all the people he works with. He’s a team builder; he’s a collaborator,” Jenkins said. “No. 2, he has shown to be very fair to have great character and just be the type of individual you’d be proud to work with.”
Third, Jenkins said, McDonald has been “willing to take on difficult situations,” such as mental health and substance abuse issues in the district.
Last spring, McDonald formed a committee to improve mental health outreach through educational forums, speakers and expanded availability of counselors.
“It’s not as talked about as much as we need to in this day and age,” Jenkins said. “He was very willing to step up.”
Looking ahead in his term as superintendent, McDonald stressed the importance of teamwork.
“It’s not about me. The board has 1,200 employees they’ve hired — I’m just one of them,” he said. “My goals really are to listen, to validate and to take a team approach.”
The district “isn’t going to be a top-heavy organization” under his watch, McDonald said.
“All constituents are going to play a role in decision-making, and that’s something that hasn’t happened around here,” he said.
McDonald cited the restoration of the middle-level math and science curricula as one such collaborative decision. In 2015, the district announced that all seventh-graders would be required to take accelerated math and science classes.
After an outcry from parents and a BOCES review found numerous flaws with the curricula, the district scrapped the acceleration plan in May 2016, one month after McDonald took the helm.
“You’re only as good as the people around you,” he said, adding that he looked to the opinions of teachers who are “in the trenches” when it came to making curriculum decisions.
McDonald said he is “just thrilled” to continue working and living in the Baldwinsville community. His two daughters attend B’ville schools.
“Baldwinsville is the most amazing community,” he said. “I took my family from Long Island to here. I could have taken them anywhere, and I took them here.”
