Greenport School District

Greenport renews search to hire secondary school principal

The Greenport school board at Thursday's meeting. (Credit: Jen Nuzzo)
The Greenport school board at Thursday’s meeting. (Credit: Jen Nuzzo)

Greenport School District Superintendent David Gamberg announced Thursday the candidate picked to become the secondary school’s new principal has declined the position.

During Thursday’s school board meeting, Mr. Gamberg said the district will reopen the search to replace Leonard Skuggevik, who resigned this summer after accepting a school superintendent position on Shelter Island.

Mr. Gamberg said the district’s hiring committee decided to reopen the search rather than pick one of the other candidates interviewed.

“We did think we would have had a replacement at this point, but, unfortunately, it did not work out,” Mr. Gamberg said. “We are hopeful that in the spring, when the search is reopened, that we’ll identify the right person for Greenport schools.”

Retired school administrator Robert Feeney of Centereach was hired in August as Greenport’s interim secondary school principal while the district searched for a permanent replacement.

Mr. Gamberg said Thursday the agreement was for Mr. Feeney to work until today, Dec. 19, because the district had planned to have hired a permanent replacement by the New Year.

To replace Mr. Feeney, the school board hired William Caulfield, a retired educator with 12 years experience as a secondary principal in the Rocky Point School District, Mr. Gamberg said.

Mr. Caulfield has also worked as an assistant principal, special education teacher, athletic director and coach, Mr. Gamberg said.

“Mr. Feeney has been a tremendous asset to me — he will be sorely missed,” Mr. Gamberg said. “The multitude of [Mr. Claulfield’s] experiences bodes well for us that he’ll be able to carry forward Mr. Feeney’s work.”

School board member Heather Wolf praised the superintendent’s recommendation.

“I feel very fortunate,” she said. “I feel like we’ve hit gold again.”

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