Huntington Schools Superintendent James W. Polansky will retire this year after 11 years as leader of the district.
Polansky previously served as principal of Walt Whitman High School in the South Huntington District for more than six years, and was named 2010 New York State Principal of the Year by the School Administrators Association.and then served as assistant superintendent for personnel and district services for about a year in South Huntington.
He became the Huntington superintendent in July 2011, succeeding John J. Finello, who retired after a 39-year career in the district, including the last 10 as superintendent.
During his tenure at Huntington, he turned a school that, before his arrival, had been beset by complaints and fears over crime in the neighborhood into the Jack Abrams STEM Magnet School, which opened in September 2013 He also brought back full-day kindergarten to the district.
He graduated from SUNY Albany, and later earned a Master of Business Administration degree at Hofstra University. He earned an advanced graduate certificate in educational administration at SUNY at Stony Brook. He holds certificates in biology/general science, chemistry, Earth science, mathematics and business/distributive education.
Before moving to the South Huntington district in 2002, he worked at Syosset High School as a science teacher from September 1991 to January 2001. He coached wrestling, soccer, baseball and softball, and later served as the Oyster Bay-East Norwich Central School District’s K-12 director of science.
His letter of retirement is on the Board of Education agenda for the 7:30 p.m. Monday meeting at the Jack Abrams school. Meetings are open to the public, and can also be viewed at the district’s YouTube
channel.