Onondaga Central names Montgomery as next superintendent

Onondaga Central has turned to a leader with deep curriculum and staffing experience as it prepares for a new school year shaped by budget pressure, academic goals and a retiring superintendent. Robert S. Montgomery will take over after Rob Price retires July 10, ending 13 years at the helm of a district that serves about 740 students and roughly 185 employees.

The board said Montgomery emerged from a five-month national search that included community surveys, stakeholder interviews and support from Onondaga-Cortland-Madison BOCES District Superintendent Matt Cook. Board President Mike Kobasa said the process was built around community voice, transparency and collaboration, a message aimed at reassuring parents and staff that the next chapter will not be a break from local expectations.

Montgomery comes to Onondaga Central from neighboring Marcellus Central School District, where he has served since July 2024 as assistant superintendent for curriculum, instruction, assessment and data. The district also pointed to seven years he spent as principal of K.C. Heffernan Elementary School, along with earlier work teaching middle school in Central Square and Auburn, serving as an instructional coach at Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES and directing secondary curriculum in Auburn before moving to Marcellus in 2017.

His background fits a district whose strategic goals emphasize proficiency across all curricular areas and service learning for all students. That focus matters in a system where the superintendent’s first-year choices will influence classroom priorities, staff development and how the district measures student progress, especially at Onondaga Senior High School, Wheeler Elementary and Rockwell Elementary in Nedrow.

Montgomery also brings a local tie that the board appears to value. He grew up in Copenhagen, N.Y., and the district said he understands the effect a small, close-knit school system can have on students. That perspective may matter in a district where continuity is prized, but where families, teachers and taxpayers will still expect answers on academic performance, staffing stability and how resources are deployed.

The board’s recent budget votes show how engaged the community has been in those decisions. The 2025-26 budget passed 450-208, with the library proposition approved 428-220. On May 19, 2026, voters approved the 2026-27 budget 376-129, the library proposition 377-131 and the gasoline bus proposition 407-96.

Montgomery will inherit a district with active public participation, a board that currently lists Kobasa, Jason Baleno, Laurel Bennett, Erik Nelson, Noelle Relles, Jeremy Burton and Nathaniel Brown, and student representatives Abigael Freyer and Maxwell Brown. For Onondaga Central, the question now is whether a superintendent with strong academic credentials can deliver continuity without losing momentum on the operational and instructional changes families will notice first.