Ex-Connetquot superintendent Joseph Centamore gets new job in North Babylon
Joseph Centamore at a meeting in 2025. Credit: Newsday/Thomas A. Ferrara
Connetquot's former schools superintendent, who resigned this week after three years on the job, is slated to start a new role in the North Babylon district for the coming school year.
Joseph Centamore has been hired as interim assistant superintendent for human resources and educational operations in North Babylon, according to a district spokesman. His term starts on Aug. 17 and ends on June 30.
The spokesman did not say how much Centamore will earn. He was paid $284,287 for the 2024-25 academic year as Connetquot's superintendent, according to a Newsday database.
Centamore has not returned requests for comment.
Centamore was appointed superintendent of the Connetquot district in 2023 after serving as a deputy superintendent in the South Huntington school district.
He was previously a middle school assistant principal in the Elwood school district, a middle school principal in the Rocky Point district and assistant director for human resources for Nassau BOCES.
Centamore resigned from the Connetquot district Tuesday night. A letter posted on the district's website announced that Bryan Frank would be taking over as acting superintendent.
A district spokeswoman declined to provide further information. Members of the school board have not returned requests for comment.
Connetquot has been in the headlines as one of 13 Long Island districts impacted by the state’s Native American mascot ban. The district sued the state to keep its original Thunderbird nickname, but the school board voted last year to accept a proposed settlement that called for it to rebrand as the T-Birds.
The name change prompted a federal Education Department investigation, which found the district violated civil rights law for complying with the state mandate. The case has been referred to the Department of Justice.
Lorena Mongelli has been reporting for Newsday since 2021. Prior to that, she covered breaking news at the New York Post.
