Locust Valley's Dr. Anna Hunderfund to retire in June

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Dr. Anna Hunderfund, who served as the Locust Valley School District superintendent for more than a decade, will be retiring on June 30. However, there is still no explanation available as to why she was placed on paid leave in January by the Locust Valley Board of Education. The board’s vote at that time was unanimous, with one trustee absent.

An Oct. 4 press release from Syntax, the district’s public relations firm, said, “Under [Hunderfund’s] leadership, Locust Valley Central School District schools have been recognized as being among the best on Long Island, in New York state and in the country.”

Hunderfund said she is sad to be leaving. “My decision to retire is bittersweet,” she wrote in an email to the Herald Guardian. “I will truly miss the amazing school community members with whom I was privileged to work for 12 years. Most of all, I will miss the ability to help educate the district’s children and to celebrate their endless accomplishments.”

The district hired two different superintendents at the bequest of the board since Hunderfund’s paid leave. Dr. Carl Bonuso, a retired Hicksville schools superintendent, served as acting superintendent in Locust Valley until August, when he stepped down. He was paid $1,000 a day.

The board named Dr. Thomas Dolan as its acting superintendent on Aug. 12. He will lead the district until June 20, 2020. Dolan, 63, has had a long career in the field of education. He began as a social studies teacher for 15 years at Canastota High School. His administrator career path followed, when he was hired as the dean at Hewlett High School in 1981. Dolan was a principal at two different schools — Cold Spring Harbor Junior-Senior High School and H. Frank Carey Junior-Senior High School in Franklin Square.

Dolan went on to become an assistant superintendent at Manhasset Public Schools and a superintendent twice, in Franklin Square Elementary School District and then at Great Neck Public Schools. He worked as the interim president at Nassau Community College in 2015 for a year and then helped to open a graduate center in Hauppauge for St. John’s University. Dolan’s last job before joining the district was as the interim director at Northport-East Northport School District until June 2019.

His salary with LVCSD was not available.

Hunderfund was one of the highest-paid educators in the state, earning approximately $385,000 annually.

The district noted Hunderfund’s contributions in it’s statement that announced her retirement. “The Locust Valley Board of Education would like to express its sincere gratitude to Dr. Hunderfund for her many years of service to the district. Her hard work and dedication to the success of all children have helped to make Locust Valley an exemplary district of which we are very proud.”