Gloversville school chief search down to final two

PHOTOGRAPHER: Michael Lamendola

The Gloversville Enlarged School District Board of Education has picked two candidates for final review in its search for a new superintendent.

The candidates are Michael Vanyo, superintendent of the Liberty Central School District in Sullivan County, and Christine Crowley, superintendent of the Duanesburg Central School District.

The Gloversville board hopes to select a finalist at its June 18 meeting, said Interim Superintendent Cliff Moses. If not, a special meeting will be held before the end of the month.

This would give the finalist time to provide notice of resignation to their current school district. Superintendents generally have to give 60 to 90 days’ notice, while an assistant superintendent generally must give 30 days’ notice.

The tentative start date for the new superintendent would be in August.

The finalists will meet with two committees on Monday and Tuesday.

Vanyo has been Superintendent at Liberty since July of 2007. His previous experience includes serving as business administrator at Liberty, Hoosic Valley and Lake George. Vanyo lives in Saratoga.

Crowley has been Superintendent at Duanesburg since 2007. She previously served as high school principal for Northeastern Clinton Central School in Champlain. She lives in Delanson.

The Liberty district has 1,625 students and incorporates the towns of Rockland, Fallsburg, Neversink, Thompson and Bethel and the village and town of Liberty. The district consists of three schools, Liberty Elementary, Liberty Middle School and Liberty High School and has two campuses.

The Duanesburg district has 950 students from seven towns. It has an elementary school serving grades K-5 and a middle/high school building housing students in grades 6-12.

The board wants a superintendent who can improve the graduation rate, lower its dropout rate, boost test scores and move three schools off the federal list of Schools in Need of Improvement, among other challenges.