Highland’s Superintendent of Schools Deborah Haab has announced she will retire effective September 8. The Highland Board of Education will formally accept her letter of resignation at an upcoming public meeting.
“We appreciate the strong leadership Mrs. Haab brought to the Highland Central School District,” said board president Alan Barone in a prepared statement released on behalf of the Board of Education. “She has been a wonderful school leader and an active member of our community. She will be missed very much.”
Haab has been superintendent at Highland for eight years, assisting in the passage of a capital project and the settlement of expired employee contracts.
“Her leadership under the tax cap and through year-after-year of cuts to state aid is invaluable,” said Barone. “She was tireless in her efforts to secure outside funding from our elected officials, and steadfast in her work to find savings and make changes needed to pull us through the economic challenges without harming student programs.”
Barone said that under Haab’s leadership, the Highland district overcame financial challenges and is now in good fiscal standing.
Haab is a “thoughtful communicator and a careful listener with the ability to build consensus,” said Barone. “She is approachable and has an open door policy.”
The Highland Board of Education will soon be conducting a superintendent search for Haab’s replacement. Her current salary is $169,290.
Haab says she will aid in the transition. “Highland is a very special place and the decision to retire was not an easy one,” but she was presented with an opportunity too good to turn down. In September, she will begin a part-time position at Wainscott School, a small K-3 district near her former home on Long Island. “It offers a nice transition into retirement.”
“We are very happy for Mrs. Haab and wish her all the best as she begins this next phase in her life,” said Barone. “She has served Highland well, and we will all miss her.”
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