Banzer is next Northport superintendent
It’s official — Robert Banzer is Northport-East Northport school district’s next superintendent.
The school board approved Banzer’s appointment and contract at a meeting on April 1. The superintendent, who is currently the human resources director at the Wayne Central School District located outside Rochester, will take Northport-East Northport’s reins on July 1. His three-year contract ends on June 30, 2018.
Banzer’s annual base salary is $220,000, according to his contract. The board would meet each May to discuss an appropriate increase to Banzer’s salary. Should he remain in office as of June 30, 2019, his base wages would increase by $6,000. He will also be getting three days of paid transition leave “to facilitate his relocation to Long Island,” effective July 1, 2015. Banzer will be required to contribute 25 percent of current health insurance premiums on whatever plan he chooses, according to the contract.
A Northport-East Northport native, Banzer graduated from Northport High School in 1984. He was tapped from a pool of 28 candidates who applied for the position formerly held by Marylou McDermott, who resigned in January to take care of her ailing mother. Since then, Thomas Caramore has been the district’s interim superintendent. Banzer was selected by a group of school administrators who served as consultants to the board and aided them in the search for a new superintendent.
In an interview last month, Antoinette Blanck, the president of the United Teachers of Northport union, said she and the union were pleased with Banzer’s pending appointment.
“I feel confident that we will be able to have a good working relationship, and that we can collaborate to bring about more positivity and improvements to our district and make Northport what it really can be,” she said. “And I think he’ll be able to do that.”
The newly-appointed superintendent holds a master’s degree from SUNY Albany, with a concentration in social studies teaching, and a bachelor’s degree from Hamilton College, with a concentration in economics. His administrative career includes six years as assistant superintendent for instruction, almost three years as a middle school principal and three years as an assistant principal, all within the Brockport Central School District.
Banzer was a classroom teacher in three school districts since the beginning of his career in education in 1990, and has also served as a football and baseball coach.
