­­Brindley Succeeds

Yelich In Top Post

At Oneonta Schools

New Superintendent Former Policeman,

1st To Rise From Teacher To Front Office

ONEONTA – The Oneonta City school board has accepted the retirement of Joseph Yelich as superintendent and appointed his assistant superintendent, Thomas Brindley, to succeed him, effective July 1.

Yelich has served as superintendent since July 1, 2013, after serving as superintendent of the Waverly School District and executive principal in the Jamestown School District.

Before his current post, Brindley, a former city police officer, was high school principal for five years.    It is the first time someone has been promoted superintendent from within the school district, said Bill Grau, school board president.

Said Brindley, “This is home for me and my family and where our children went through school. I consider it a great honor to be able to serve this community in this new capacity. Oneonta is a very special place.”

Brindley “brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to this position, not only as an educator but also because of his experience in law enforcement,” said Grau.  “We feel Tom is the right person to guide the district through the next chapter and we are glad that he is the first person to be hired from within.”

“It is with a mixture of excitement and sadness that I announce my retirement from the Oneonta City School District,” Yelich said. “Excitement for what is to come and sadness for leaving a place where the accomplishments are many.”

Said Grau, “Joe took over at a critical time for our District, we were struggling with our budget, we had just repurposed an Elementary School, and we had the Common Core standards to implement all of which negatively impacted morale.  He guided us through those issues plus a new teacher evaluation process.  Through Joe’s leadership we are now operating as one District and not five separate schools.”