The Alexander Central School District Board of Education will be conducting a superintendent job search to replace Catherine Huber, Ph.D., who has accepted the position of district superintendent of the ONC (Otsego Northern Catskills) Board of Cooperative Educational Services in Grand Gorge, a hamlet in the Town of Roxbury in Delaware County.
Board President Brian Paris this afternoon confirmed that Huber has left the Genesee County school after nearly four years as its chief administrative officer. While stating that a search for a permanent replacement is about to begin, he did not provide a timetable or any other details.
The Batavian found out about Huber's departure earlier today when an email sent to her about a different matter bounced back with an automated message from her indicating that she has taken the position at ONC BOCES.
An online search of her name brought up accounts of her new appointment in Downstate news outlets and on the ONC BOCES website back in August. The Alexander Board of Education, however, has not issued a media release about Huber’s resignation, new position and/or accomplishments at the Genesee County school.
Paris said minutes from a meeting in August or September “contain notification that the board approved the resignation of Dr. Huber."
A search of the board’s meeting minutes on the district website revealed one line from the Sept. 9 meeting:
Appointment of Interim Superintendent -- Jared Taft Interim Superintendent.
Taft previously was the elementary school principal.
According to a story dated Aug, 20 and updated on Sept. 2 in The Cooperstown Crier, Huber will begin (has begun) work Oct. 1, pending successful contract negotiations and formal appointment to the position, according to a media release. She will replace Nicholas Savin, who announced his retirement in April.
In a media release cited by the newspaper, Huber said, “I am honored and grateful to be selected as the next ONC BOCES District Superintendent. I look forward to working with the Board of Education, our staff, and our component districts to achieve our collective goals.”
She was hired as the superintendent in Alexander in December 2016.
Paris congratulated Huber on her new appointment, describing her as “an extremely intelligent and well-credentialed individual who did a fantastic job at Alexander, which is indicative of the fact that she has been elevated to one of only 37 (district superintendent) positions in New York State.”
“And I think it speaks well for Alexander that she was promoted, technically, within this system to, quite frankly, a very sought-after position within the New York State educational program,” he said. “We’re sad to see her go, but I know that this was a really good situation for her.”
Per the ONC BOCES website posting:
Dr. Huber earned her undergraduate degree in English from Ithaca College, and her graduate work at Canisius College resulted in Master’s degrees in English Education and in Educational Leadership. She earned her doctorate in Educational Leadership at D’Youville College.
Dr. Huber was selected as one of 25 female superintendents from across the country to participate as a member of the 2018 AASA National Women’s Leadership Consortium. Dr. Huber twice received the D’Youville College Doctoral Program Leadership Award and she was named Regional Administrator of the Year by the Empire State Supervisors and Administrators Association in 2011.
In addition to her work in K-12 public education, Dr. Huber has higher education administration experience in addition to her current work as an adjunct lecturer in the SUNY Brockport Educational Administration program.
Photo: File photo.
