The Onteora School Board has hired a new athletic director, the fourth in about two years, to help the district transition as it adds sixth grade to the middle school in the next year.
Jonnah O’Donnell, who recently retired as the Marlboro athletic director, was appointed Onteora’s interim director of physical education, health and athletics for one year at rate of $780 per day.
O’Donnell will also be reimbursed for “travel incurred representing the district for conferences and offsite events and competitions in support of Onteora athletes as approved by the superintendent or her designee,” according to the terms approved by the board.
O’Donnell replaces Beth Fletcher, who accepted a position with another district. Her interim role began August 30 and will continue until June 30, 2024.
“She has had a long and successful career in Marlboro and is a highly experienced administrator with a fabulous reputation who is familiar with our district and also with Section Nine,” superintendent Victoria McLaren said of O’Donnell at the August 29 meeting of the school board. “So her learning curve will be pretty short. I know that our students, faculty and coaches will be in really good hands with her and I’m thankful that she’s willing to step in for us.”
Having O’Donnell on an interim basis will give the district time to review the position in an attempt to attract candidates to fill it long-term, she said.
Fletcher was hired in October 2022, replacing interim director Jennifer Simmons, who was appointed in August of that year. Simmons filled the role after Ryan Naccarato, hired in January 2022, took a position in another district.
In other business, central administration staff spent several hours recently with the state Department of Education, which is in the process of monitoring how districts have spent their grant funds, McLaren said.
“When the grants were first released, the reporting requirements had not yet been determined,” McLaren said. “So I need to thank our entire central staff and our administrators because it really is a huge lift and assistant superintendent [for business Monica] LaClair and the business office have done an incredible amount of work to provide all the information the state needs.”
The goal of total compliance is “just very overwhelming in terms of the depth and breadth of information that they are requiring,” said McLaren.
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