School districts select their new superintendents
Sickles joins Cobleskill as Ovitt chosen to head Hadley-luzerne
Two area school boards recently hired superintendents.
At Cobleskill-richmondville, Matthew Sickles was unanimously appointed by the Board of Education Thursday. Sickles, current superintendent of Phelps-clifton Springs (Midlakes) school district in the Finger Lakes Region, will begin Sept. 1.
Sickles will succeed Carl Mummenthey, leader for the past eight years. Mummenthey is leaving July 1 to become Niskayuna’s superintendent.
Sickles was chosen following a search process that included community input through forums and surveys, a review of applications and interviews with several candidates. His background includes instructional leadership, strategic planning, facilities planning, budgeting and community partnerships.
Sickles was born and raised in Schaghticoke and holds degrees from Siena College (bachelor’s in history) and Union College (master of arts in teaching). At
Shenendehowa, he was a high school social studies teacher, department administrator and then assistant and associate principal. He also spent 12 years in Schuylerville as a principal before becoming superintendent at Midlakes in 2017. Sickles and his wife of 25 years, Laurie, are parents of daughters: Abby and Ella. In his free time, he enjoys golfing, hiking, ancestry research, Civil War history, reading crime novels and traveling, the district said.
Hadley-luzerne
Burgess Ovitt will begin his new duties as superintendent on Aug. 1, following the retirement of Superintendent Beecher Baker.
Ovitt has been the district’s Junior/senior High School principal since 2016. His administrative career began in 1997 as assistant principal/athletic director in the Fort Edward district.
In 2004, he was the athletic director/assistant principal and director of physical education for the Hudson Falls district. Ovitt received his bachelor of science in education and his master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from SUNY Plattsburgh.