Huntington schools Superintendent Christian Bowen abruptly resigns
Christian Bowen was Huntington schools superintendent for less than a year. Credit: Huntington Public Schools
Huntington schools Superintendent Christian Bowen has resigned, a month shy of finishing his first academic year as the district’s top administrator.
The Huntington school board accepted Bowen’s resignation in a special meeting Wednesday. Bowen’s contract was to last through September 2026 with a base salary of $240,000 for the first year.
Bowen assumed the schools chief role after former Superintendent James Polansky retired last year. Bowen served as deputy superintendent for two weeks before taking over as superintendent in September.
At Wednesday’s meeting, the board appointed Alan Groveman, a former superintendent of Connetquot schools, as interim superintendent at a daily rate of up to $1,000.
News of Bowen’s abrupt departure comes just a day after voters approved the district’s proposed $152 million budget for 2024-25.
The resignation comes a month after the board hired Elena Cacavas as special investigative counsel to look into “Issues pursuant to applicable District policies,” according to the resolution that was approved in April. The resolution did not specify what she was to investigate and whether it was related to the superintendent.
Bowen, of Massapequa, did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
Huntington school board president Xavier Palacios declined to comment Wednesday beyond saying that the board accepted Bowen’s resignation and appointed his replacement.
Bowen came to Huntington from the Valley Stream Central High School District, where he worked as its assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, and director of instructional services, according to a Huntington district announcement of his appointment last July.
A former math teacher and data specialist at a Brooklyn school, Bowen moved into administrative roles in the Rocky Point district as its coordinator of mathematics and instructional data, and later in the Plainview-Old Bethpage district as its mathematics chairperson.
Bowen graduated from Carle Place High School and holds a bachelor of science in mathematical science from Johns Hopkins University, and a master of science in adolescent education and a master of science in school leadership from Pace University.
Huntington schools Superintendent Christian Bowen has resigned, a month shy of finishing his first academic year as the district’s top administrator.
The Huntington school board accepted Bowen’s resignation in a special meeting Wednesday. Bowen’s contract was to last through September 2026 with a base salary of $240,000 for the first year.
Bowen assumed the schools chief role after former Superintendent James Polansky retired last year. Bowen served as deputy superintendent for two weeks before taking over as superintendent in September.
At Wednesday’s meeting, the board appointed Alan Groveman, a former superintendent of Connetquot schools, as interim superintendent at a daily rate of up to $1,000.
News of Bowen’s abrupt departure comes just a day after voters approved the district’s proposed $152 million budget for 2024-25.
The resignation comes a month after the board hired Elena Cacavas as special investigative counsel to look into “Issues pursuant to applicable District policies,” according to the resolution that was approved in April. The resolution did not specify what she was to investigate and whether it was related to the superintendent.
Bowen, of Massapequa, did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
Huntington school board president Xavier Palacios declined to comment Wednesday beyond saying that the board accepted Bowen’s resignation and appointed his replacement.
Bowen came to Huntington from the Valley Stream Central High School District, where he worked as its assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, and director of instructional services, according to a Huntington district announcement of his appointment last July.
A former math teacher and data specialist at a Brooklyn school, Bowen moved into administrative roles in the Rocky Point district as its coordinator of mathematics and instructional data, and later in the Plainview-Old Bethpage district as its mathematics chairperson.
Bowen graduated from Carle Place High School and holds a bachelor of science in mathematical science from Johns Hopkins University, and a master of science in adolescent education and a master of science in school leadership from Pace University.
Dandan Zou covers education for Newsday. Previously, she worked for a community newspaper in Maryland and a personal finance magazine in Washington, D.C.
