Bayport-Blue Point Superintendent Anthony Annunziato is poised to leave the district after seven years to take the same post in the Smithtown Central School District, multiple sources have confirmed to Patch.
"He is one of the people that really met almost every piece of the survey criteria," Smithtown Board of Education President Gladys Waldron told the Smithtown Times this week of Annunziato. "He has fantastic references and he has just done a great job in his former places. His interaction with the board was pleasant so hopefully everything will work out and we will be finalizing the contracts."
Smithtown has been searching for a new superintendent since the fall when Edward Ehmann announced he would be at the end of the year.
Bayport-Blue Point Board of Education President Jim March told Patch Friday that he hasn't been given confirmation that Annunziato, who is making $242,550 this year, is leaving the district.
"I would be disappointed if he did take the job because I think he was doing a great job in our district," said March, who acknowledged at a recent school board meeting that Smithtown was "aggressively pursuing" Annunziato, who lives in Smithtown.
"Outside of this district, he's considered a rock star," March said at that meeting. "Somehow within the district, I'm not sure that full appreciation has been granted. Sadly, we may find out in the long run what a benefit our current administration was and Smithtown's gain may turn out to be our loss."
Annunziato, who has not responded to multiple requests for comment, has spoken highly of the Bayport-Blue Point community and educational system throughout his tenure.
“I would consider leaving the state,” Annunziato last year, of his possible plans if a proposed state cap on superintendent salaries were to go into effect. “But I wouldn’t leave Bayport-Blue Point to go to another district on Long Island.”
There is currently no cap on superintendent pay in New York. Ehmann, who is retiring after a five-year stint as superintendent and nearly four decades in the district overall, is earning $219,555 this year.
