The Skaneateles board of education has decided to hire a former district administrator to return as the new principal of Waterman Elementary School. Gary Gerst, currently principal of West Genesee’s Stonehenge Elementary School-Gold, will take over Waterman effective July 1, said Skaneateles Schools Superintendent Phil D’Angelo during the April 3 work session of the Skaneateles board of education. Gerst will succeed current principal Marianne Young, who announced her retirement in January.
Gerst is a Skaneateles High School graduate and former Skaneateles teacher. He taught English language arts at Skaneateles Middle School and fifth grade at State Street School, before becoming the Skaneateles K-5 math/science/health curriculum coordinator and district wide staff development coordinator. He has been principal of Stonehenge Elementary since 2009. Gerst will be officially appointed to the principal position at the April 17 meeting of the school board, D’Angelo said. Also at the April 3 meeting, D’Angelo gave the first reading of a proposed new board of education policy to create a director of elementary curriculum, instruction and professional development. There currently are two elementary-level curriculum coordinators in the Skaneateles district, Stacy Tice for K-5 math and science, and Patrick Brown for K-5 Language Arts and Social Studies. Tice’s position is part-time, and she also serves as district athletic coordinator.
The proposed new position would basically combine the two current curriculum coordinator jobs into one position, said board vice president Kate Cogswell. It was not announced at the meeting who would be named the new director of elementary curriculum, and, because this is a personnel issue and subject to privacy concerns, the board could not at this time discuss who may or may not take the new position and what may or may not happen to the two current elementary curriculum coordinator positions, Cogswell said. Jason Emerson is editor of the Skaneateles Press. He can be reached at [email protected].