Quogue School Superintendent Richard Benson To Retire In June

Longtime Quogue School Superintendent Richard Benson is retiring at the end of the school year, and Board of Education members have recently started the process of finding his replacement.

Lauren Battista, president of the board, explained Wednesday morning that a search for Mr. Benson’s replacement has only just begun, with the district advertising the position in The New York Times earlier this week. She added that the board intends to circulate a note to parents of Quogue School’s estimated 110 students at the end of this week explaining the reasons for Mr. Benson’s pending departure.

She noted that Mr. Benson, who has led the district for the past 16 years, is in the final year of his contract. It was not immediately clear when Mr. Benson alerted the board about his intention to retire.

Mr. Benson did not respond to three messages left for him at the school this week.

He is making $238,718 this school year, according to the New York State Department of Education.

The Board of Education will be holding a special meeting this coming Tuesday, April 12, to discuss the process of finding a new superintendent and are encouraging members of the district’s Parent Teacher Association, as well as parents, to attend. The meeting will also be attended by Dr. Julie Davis Lutz, chief operating officer for the Eastern Suffolk Board of Cooperative Educational Services, who is handling the candidate search for the single-school district.

At next week’s meeting, which begins at 6 p.m. and will be held in library of the Edgewood Road school, Ms. Lutz will outline the qualities they want to see in the next superintendent, who will also serve as the school’s principal. The Board of Education’s next monthly meeting will follow at 7:15 p.m. at the same location.

Mr. Benson has focused on elementary education throughout his career. He began his career as a teacher in the Freeport School District for 11 years, according to a short bio on the Quogue School website, and spent the next 16 years as principal of the Newbridge Road School in North Bellmore.

In 2000, Mr. Benson was named the superintendent at Quogue School.

Additionally, Mr. Benson serves as vice chairman of the East End Health Plan, which provides affordable health insurance to school districts in the area.

Mr. Benson’s wife, Ellen, to whom he has been married for more than four decades, is also dedicated to education, according to the school website. She serves as the executive director of Harmony Heights, a therapeutic residential and day school in Oyster Bay serving girls with emotional needs, the site notes.