South Country school board names Dennis O'Hara as new superintendent

The South Country Central School District Board of Education Wednesday evening approved the appointment of Dennis O’Hara, the current superintendent of Islip schools, as its superintendent through 2030.

O'Hara's appointment came after the board's 5-0 vote at a special meeting at the district's East Patchogue administrative building. The board's sixth trustee, Linda Brown, abstained from voting.

Following the vote, O'Hara told the board he was "grateful" to join the district, which he called "a diamond in the rough."

“I’m happy to say we are going to make a difference and change the trajectory of our school district and make a difference for all the students that are here,” he said.

O'Hara's tenure is set to begin Dec. 1, and he will earn an annual salary of $262,500, district spokesperson Ron Edelson told Newsday.

South Country’s previous superintendent, Antonio Santana, resigned in May amid district fiscal turmoil, Newsday previously reported. Santana stepped down one month after state lawmakers approved an emergency bill providing the district an immediate $7 million in aid, with permission to borrow an extra $11 million.

In a statement issued at the time, Santana said he was "grateful to have worked alongside dedicated educators, administrators, support staff, families, community partners, and board members who care deeply about our students.”

In August, Santana was appointed principal of Elmont Memorial High School in the Sewanhaka Central High School District in Floral Park, according to a district news release. In a statement Wednesday evening, the South Country board said it was solely focused "on the future" and would not comment on Santana.

O'Hara's appointment comes more than two years after he was ensnared in a scandal while working his summer job as a lifeguard. In a letter to the community, O'Hara said he photographed female colleagues at Robert Moses State Park out of "concern about the bathing attire” of the lifeguards.

A New York State investigation cleared him of wrongdoing in January, as did two other probes, and he returned to work the following month, Newsday previously reported. However, the Islip board of education voted to truncate his contract, which now ends in June 2027. He was also required to reimburse the district $29,000 it spent on its investigation into the matter.

The South Country board of education, through Edelson, said there was "no further comment necessary or warranted" regarding this matter, citing the three investigations which "found no wrongdoing."

There was no public comment session during Wednesday's meeting.  

O'Hara said he had been transparent with the Islip board as he sought the South Country superintendent position and is not in violation of his Islip contract. Several colleagues from Islip were present Wednesday evening to congratulate him.

When asked why he chose to join a district in financial crisis, O'Hara told reporters following the meeting that "a school district is more than just a budget."

"I think the students that go to school here have tremendous potential and I think the community is wonderful," he said. "I'm excited to help make a difference and get them through the challenges they've experienced and get us to the other side of it."

In its statement, the South Country school district said it "is on a solid path to fiscal recovery and restoring a strong financial foundation that is sustainable, data and enrollment-driven, and ensures a wide variety of educational, music and fine arts, sports, extracurricular, and student support services and activities are offered to meet every student's needs, passions, and career objectives."