Sag Harbor Superintendent's Contract Extended

In the weeks after the public got word that the Sag Harbor School District had not yet voted to extend its superintendent’s contract past its June 2017 expiration date, parents and residents made it clear to the school board during the public comment sessions of its meetings that they wanted the superintendent to stay.

They got their wish Monday night, at least for one more year. After an executive session convened at the end of a regular business meeting to discuss personnel matters, the school board returned to open session and unanimously voted to extend Katy Graves’s contract through June 2018. Syntax Communications, the school’s public relations firm, made the announcement on Tuesday afternoon.

“As we approach the start of school, we look forward to working together with our superintendent of schools, Katy Graves, to ensure another productive and successful school year,” Diana Kolhoff, the school board president, said in a statement.

Ms. Graves said by phone Tuesday that she was “very happy to have the support of the board and our community.”

“I’m so happy that the focus is back on the opening of our school and our beautiful new spaces we’re going to have, thanks to our building project,” she said.

The district hired Ms. Graves in 2014 and initially gave her a three-year contract, from July 1, 2014, through June 30, 2017. The extension goes through June 30, 2018, but the full details of it were not immediately available.

Larry Baum, a parent who has called Ms. Graves “our amazing superintendent,” said Tuesday he was pleased the school board “did the right thing.” However, he said, “I’m disappointed that they only gave her a one-year extension. They should have given her a two or three-year contract extension.”

In July, Ms. Graves was given a $4,187 pay increase, bringing her salary up to $224,562, but her contract was not extended at that time. Parents showed up in force at meetings to urge the school board to do so.

“They should have done that in June,” Mr. Baum said. “When you give someone a raise, which is basically an affirmation of the great work she was doing, then why would they not extend her contract? With everything I have heard, and everybody I have talked to, there is no issue at all with Katy Graves. That should be put in the paper.”