VALATIE — The Ichabod Crane Board of Education on Wednesday evening appointed a new district superintendent.
Jason Thomson was appointed in a unanimous 9-0 vote by the board of education to take the district’s helm. He succeeds interim district superintendent Lee Bordick, who came to Ichabod Crane on July 1 of this year.
“He was appointed last evening and I think everybody was happy to meet him and his family,” Bordick said of his successor. “We are now beginning conversations and a plan for the transition, which will take most of the month of January. It is anticipated that he will start in the beginning of February.”
Thomson, his wife and their three children attended the board of education meeting Wednesday to officially accept the position and be introduced to the community. Following the board meeting the family attended the annual Ichabod Crane High School Winter Concert.
“Mr. Thomson will succeed current Interim District Superintendent Lee Bordick, and begin his role in February 2020,” according to a statement from the district. “Mr. Bordick has served as interim superintendent since July 2019 and will continue leading the district until Mr. Thomson’s official start date.”
In the meantime, Thomson and Bordick will begin the transition to a new leadership.
“We will be talking regularly and we will set up some dates when [Mr. Thomson] will come in and meet the staff,” Bordick said. “The transition will be very smooth.”
Prior to taking on his new post, Thomson was superintendent of the Delaware Academy Central School District in Delhi for nine years, according to a statement from the Ichabod Crane school district.
Thomson began his career in education as a high school special education teacher and a middle school health teacher. He has held several positions in administration, including director of special education, building principal and vice principal.
The Ichabod Crane Board of Education spent months in the search for a new superintendent, including collecting input from students, community members and other district stakeholders, according to the district’s statement.
When Bordick took over as interim district superintendent over the summer of 2019, he was replacing former superintendent Michael Vanyo, who stepped down from the position June 30, 2019, after he was charged with driving while intoxicated. For several weeks prior to his resignation, he had been on a leave of absence. Initially, Assistant Superintendent Suzanne Guntlow served as acting superintendent beginning April 9, 2019, a position she held until Bordick’s interim appointment July 1.
Police said they arrested Vanyo in Wilton on April 6 after he allegedly crashed his vehicle into another and drove away. He was charged with driving while intoxicated and leaving the scene of an accident, police said.