Onondaga Board of Education Selects Next Superintendent of Schools
After a five-month search that included input from a wide range of district stakeholders, the Onondaga Central School District Board of Education has selected Robert S. Montgomery, an assistant superintendent in the neighboring Marcellus Central School District, as its next superintendent of schools.
Montgomery will succeed Onondaga Superintendent Rob Price, who is retiring July 10 after leading the district for the past 13 years.
Onondaga Board of Education President Mike Kobasa said he and his fellow board members “are proud to welcome Robert Montgomery as our next superintendent and look forward to the leadership he will bring to our students, staff and community.”
“This process reflected the importance of community voice, transparency, and collaboration,” Kobasa said. “We appreciate the engagement we received, are grateful for the strong pool of candidates, and are confident in the direction of our district as we move forward together.”
The Board conducted a national search with assistance from Onondaga-Cortland-Madison (OCM) BOCES District Superintendent Matt Cook, Ed.D. As part of the process, the Board surveyed the community to help identify the most desirable qualities in a new district leader and conducted interviews with a variety of stakeholder groups.
Montgomery currently serves as assistant superintendent for curriculum, instruction, data and assessment in Marcellus, a position he has held since July 2024. His first role in the district came in 2017, when he began a seven-year tenure as principal of K.C. Heffernan Elementary School. During that time, Montgomery gained a bit of notoriety for making good on zany promises, such as sleeping on the school roof and kissing a frog, when students reached major reading goals.
Montgomery said his selection as Onondaga’s next superintendent is “an incredible honor.”
“To hear students describe the district as a caring community with a vibrant sense of family tells me everything I need to know about the soul of Onondaga Central,” he said.
“Having started my own journey in the small, rural community of Copenhagen, N.Y., I know firsthand the profound impact a tight-knit district can have on a student’s life,” he said. “I look forward to leading Onondaga Central with a deep appreciation for our shared values and ensuring that the same personal connections and sense of family that shaped my foundation continue to empower every student here to achieve something extraordinary.”
After graduating from high school, Montgomery earned an associate’s degree in business administration from Jefferson Community College and a bachelor’s and master’s degree in elementary education from SUNY Oswego. He also earned his Certificate of Advanced Study in 2012 from SUNY Oswego.
After college, Montgomery spent several years teaching middle school in Central Square and Auburn before serving three years as an instructional coach at Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES. He later joined the Auburn Enlarged City School District, where he worked as director of secondary curriculum and then principal of William H. Seward Elementary School. In 2017, he relocated to Marcellus.
As superintendent of Onondaga, Montgomery will lead a district that serves about 740 students in grades pre-K-12 across three academic buildings: Rockwell Elementary School (pre-K-2), Wheeler Elementary School (3-6) and Onondaga Junior/Senior High School (7-12). The district employs about 185 instructional, noninstructional and administrative staff members.
Kobasa and other members of the Onondaga Board of Education expressed gratitude to the community, district stakeholders, OCM BOCES and everyone else who supported the search process.
Montgomery lives in Baldwinsville with his wife, Tracey, and has two daughters, Martha and Morgan.
