A former Schenectady schools administrator will be filling in as the Scotia-Glenville Middle School principal until a permanent replacement is found.
The Scotia-Glenville Board of Education appointed Gary Comley on Monday, Dec. 12, as interim principal of the middle school following an unsuccessful search for a replacement.
Comley is a former Mont Pleasant Middle School principal and associate superintendent at Schenectady High School. Comley succeeds Shari Keller, who is retiring on Friday, Dec. 30.
The appointment is effective from Dec. 20 until April 26, 2012, but district officials are expecting Comley will remain as interim principal until the end of the school year on June 30. The district is planning to seek a waiver from the state Education Department to allow Comley to complete the school year.
The district conducted a search for a new principal in the fall but that failed to produce a suitable candidate, according to district officials. Superintendent Susan Swartz said a search for a permanent principal would reopen in the spring.
“We are very pleased to have someone with Mr. Comley’s experience and background during this transition period at our middle school,” Swartz said in a statement. “He is a welcomed new member to our administrative team and to the middle school family.”
Comley retired from Schenectady in 2009 and holds a master’s degree in educational administration and mathematics from SUNY Albany and a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and secondary education from Siena College.
He served as an associate superintendent of schools at Schenectady High School from 2007 to 2009; was principal at Mont Pleasant Middle School from 2000 to 2007; was K-12 Mathematics Coordinator at Schenectady from 1999 to 2000; and assistant Mont Pleasant principal from 1994 to 1999.
He also taught mathematics and computer science at several Schenectady schools from 1977 to 1994 and was an adjunct instructor at Schenectady County Community College from 1982 to 1992.
He is the husband of Ann Comley, principal at the Sacandaga Elementary School.
