The Hastings Board of Education sent the following notice to the community Friday announcing the likely appointment of  Dr. Roy Montesano as the district's superintendent of schools. Like Dobbs Ferry's Lisa Brady, Montesano comes to the Rivertowns after serving as an administrator in New Jersey. 

Hastings has had Interim Superintendent Timothy Connors for two years; Connors will carry out the rest of the school year. 

The board will vote to make Montesano's appointment official at their meeting on Monday, Jan. 23. 

Read the letter below:

Dear Community Members,

We are very excited and pleased to announce that the Board has reached an agreement with Dr. Roy Montesano to serve as our next Superintendent.  Dr. Montesano comes to us following a distinguished career in New Jersey, where he has been a middle school science teacher and principal, a Director of Curriculum and Technology, and for the past 12 years, a superintendent in the Westwood and Ramsey school districts.

The Board first met Dr. Montesano during last year’s search process and he was one of the three finalists who spoke with our Interview Committee, an 18-member group comprising representatives from a broad sample of our school community, including administrators, faculty, staff, parents, students, and residents without children currently in the schools.  We would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the time and thought that members of this committee devoted and to thank them for their help in screening the candidates.

We remained in touch with Dr. Montesano and in the last month have been able to finalize an agreement that will bring him to our District beginning in July.  Mr. Timothy Connors will continue as our superintendent through the end of the school year and the Board members would like to convey our deep appreciation for his willingness to remain with us and lead the district forward for an additional year.  His experience and talents have served the district very well and we look forward to working with him for the remainder of his term.

In our conversations with Dr. Montesano and several people who have worked with him in New Jersey, we have been very impressed with his child-centered focus on education, his leadership in technology and 21st century learning skills, his grasp of financial and strategic planning, and his ability to communicate and work with all the stakeholders in the school and the larger community.  Apparently, we are not alone in our good impression of Dr. Montesano as he was honored this past October as New Jersey’s Superintendent of the Year!

We will be voting on Dr. Montesano’s appointment to the superintendent position at our January 23rd Board meeting.  As we get closer to his arrival date, we plan to hold events so that everyone interested in meeting Dr. Montesano will have that opportunity.

The Board members are very pleased and confident that we have been able to attract an excellent, talented, experienced administrator to lead our district and we look forward to working with Dr. Montesano for the benefit of our students and the community as a whole.  Change always comes with its share of questions and concerns, but also, more importantly, its share of possibilities.  Please join us as we focus on the possibilities and welcome Dr. Montesano to Hastings-on-Hudson.