Superintendent Matt Cook is leaving the Newark Central School District.
The district announced Friday that Cook accepted the position of District Superintendent for Onondaga-Cortland-Madison BOCES.
His duties will include administering, supervising and evaluating regional support services and educational programs provided by the BOCES at the request of the 23 component school districts it serves.
He had earlier been identified as a finalist for the position.
“It’s been the greatest honor of my professional career to be able to serve this community,” he said. “Any success I’ve had here is a result of the team that I have been blessed to work with. They will more than capably carry Newark on to do great things in the future. I wish my successor all the best, as he or she will be stepping into a wonderful community and will work with a group of dedicated educators that care deeply about every student, every day,” Cook said of his time in Newark.
Cook earned his doctorate this year in Educational Leadership from the University of Rochester. Before coming to Newark in 2013 he had completed the Superintendent Development Program at SUNY Oswego. He received his Certificate in Advanced Study degree at the University of Rochester; his Master’s Degree in social work at Syracuse University; and his Bachelor’s Degree in psychology at SUNY Geneseo.
He and his wife, Anne, a retired Lyons Elementary School teacher, have three adult children, Halle, Sam and Hannah.
Cook will start in his new role November 1st, according to an announcement by OCM BOCES.
Newark will begin its search for a new superintendent in November. In the meantime, Dennis Ford will serve as interim superintendent. He previously served as interim superintendent in the Victor Central School District from July 2019 to March 2020.
Ford will begin working with me the last week of October and will fully transition into the Interim Superintendent role on November 2nd.
Dr. Vicky Ramos, District Superintendent for the Wayne Finger Lakes BOCES will help the search process in Newark – as she did in Geneva.
Reaction to the news that Cook would be taking on the BOCES role was expansive in the educational and Newark communities.
“As the District Superintendent of the Wayne-Finger Lakes BOCES, I am very happy to welcome Matt Cook to the table as a colleague,” Dr. Ramos added. “One of our very important roles is to insure equity for students and school districts. I have no doubt Matt will be dedicated to that purpose.”
Newark BOE president offered his own congratulations to Cook on the appointment. “Matt Cook is a strong, collaborative leader and visionary who tapped into the strengths of others to achieve many shared and important goals for our school district and community. I am pleased that he was chosen for this position as the new OCM BOCES District Superintendent. I am even more grateful for the considerable strides we made in strengthening our overall educational program and offerings for students in Newark during his tenure,” he said.
Newark Mayor Jonathan Taylor called it a pleasure to work with Cook over his six year tenure.
“We’ve been able to collaborate on a number of initiatives for the betterment of our community. On behalf of the Village of Newark, we wish Matt well in all of his future endeavors,” Taylor added.
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