Evans to step down Nov. 30

By Leah Staudt | Manor Ink

Town Of Rockland, NY – Superintendent John Evans recently announced his retirement as of the end of November from the Rockland Central School District after nearly 32 years of working in education.

Many may wonder why he’s retiring so suddenly, but in an interview with Manor Ink, Evans disclosed that he will turn 55 this month and, in New York State, if you are both 55 years of age and have 30 years of service in the educational field, you are eligible for retirement.

The possibility of Evans retiring had previously been discussed with both the Manor and Roscoe school boards, and that decision, having been made, now will necessitate the hiring of an interim superintendent for December through June of next year. Evans expressed how he is looking forward to relaxing and reducing stress during his retirement.

“Being a superintendent is a 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week, 365-days-a-year job,” Evans said. “So, you know, I’m kind of looking forward to a little bit of rest.”

During his thirty plus years as an educator, Evans has served as an administrator, coach and teacher. He recalled how he was inspired by his former high school physics teacher, Alan Sullivan, to pursue his goal of becoming a technology teacher. From 1995-2006, Evans worked as a tech teacher in Livingston Manor, and that position was followed by stints as an assistant principal and an assistant superintendent in the Fallsburg district. After that, he was hired as superintendent of Roscoe district in 2010.

Though Evans has accomplished much throughout his career, he believes one of his greatest achievements was becoming the first superintendent of three shared districts in New York state, managing Livingston Manor, Roscoe and Downsville from 2017 to 2022. Another achievement was facilitating the merger between Livingston Manor and Roscoe.

Regarding the merger, Evans reminisced, “It’s something that the Roscoe and the Manor communities have talked about, looked at and discussed for my entire life. Having grown up in Roscoe, it was something that people were talking about when I was a kid. So being part of that, and being involved in that, is a big accomplishment.”

Though he’s leaving the Rockland district, Evans hopes its students will continue to have more opportunities in the form of programs, classes and activities in future years. He also had a few words of wisdom for the future Rockland superintendent.

“Listen to your faculty and staff, and listen to your students. They have a lot of great ideas, and they’re a wealth of knowledge and information,” Evans advised. “I think involving them in the decision-making going forward is going to make for a very successful school district.”

Manor Ink congratulates Superintendent John Evans on his retirement and wishes him all the best in the next chapter of his life.