Joseph Yelich is retiring as Oneonta High School Superintendent.  He will be replaced by Thomas Brindley. Townsquare Media has just received this correspondence from the Oneonta School Board:

"Today at its regular meeting, the Oneonta City School District Board of Education accepted the retirement of Joseph Yelich as Superintendent and appointed Thomas Brindley as his replacement. Both actions are effective July 1, 2019.

Yelich has served as Superintendent since July 1, 2013 after serving as Superintendent of the Waverly School District and Executive Principal in the Jamestown School District. Yelich had this to say about his retirement, “It is with a mixture of excitement and sadness that I announce my retirement from the Oneonta City School District. Excitement for what is to come and sadness for leaving a place where the accomplishments are many. I am very excited to be leaving the district in highly capable hands. Tom Brindley and the OCSD Board of Education make a great team and they will continue to support the great programs we have built. Although we have accomplished much there is more to do and this leadership team will be able to envision a bright future for the district that will allow Oneonta to continue to be a leader in our region. I am truly grateful to the Board of Education, the Staff and to the community for years of support and encouragement.”

“Joe took over at a critical time for our District, we were struggling with our budget, we had just repurposed an Elementary School, and we had the Common Core standards to implement all of which negatively impacted morale. He guided us through those issues plus a new teacher evaluation process. Through Joe’s leadership we are now operating as one District and not 5 separate schools.” Bill Grau Board of Education President

Tom Brindley will take over the helm on July 1, 2019 after serving as the Assistant Superintendent for the past year and High School Principal for 5 years. Prior to his tenure as OHS Principal, Brindley taught in the District and was Assistant Principal of OHS for 6 ½ years. Tom was a member of the Oneonta City Police Department before his career in Education. Brindley said of his appointment as Superintendent, “I consider it a great honor to be able to serve this community in this new capacity. Oneonta is a very special place. This is home for me and my family and where our children went through school. The faculty and staff of this district have contributed in shaping the lives of my own children. I am incredibly grateful for that and for the opportunity that I have had to work side by side with all of them while serving as a teacher, coach, assistant principal, principal, and assistant superintendent in this school district.

As superintendent, I simply look forward to our continued collaborative effort to build the very best educational product and environment possible so that our students can make the most out of the opportunities available to them in our district.”

Grau said, “The Board is very excited to work with Tom as Superintendent. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to this position, not only as an educator but also because of his experience in law enforcement. I believe that this is the first time that someone from within the District has been appointed Superintendent. We feel Tom is the right person to guide the District through the next chapter and we are glad that he is the first person to be hired from within.”

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