HUDSON – Dr. Maria Lagana Suttmeier, superintendent of the Hudson City School District, is to retire effective January 2, 2022, the Board of Education announced at its June 15 meeting. She will have held that position for nine and a half years.
“It has been quite a journey,” Dr. Suttmeier said at the meeting. “Being a superintendent everywhere is a lifestyle. It’s 24/7.” But “it’s been a labor of love. I look back with a lot of fond memories.”
Student needs have motivated her work, Dr. Suttmeier said. “The students are the heartbeat of the system.”
Meanwhile, she continued, administrating the district has “been a wonderful effort of the entire team. It’s not a one-person show.”
Dr. Suttmeier came to the HCSD in 1999. Before becoming superintendent, she served in several positions, including Alternate Learning Program Administrator, Associate Principal and Assistant Superintendent. At the June 15 meeting she said she enjoyed each position.
During her tenure, Dr. Suttmeier has faced challenges and led changes. When she became superintendent in 2012, the HCSD was still recovering from the effects of the 2008 Recession. Under her auspices, in early 2016, the HCSD climbed out of the “in focus” status, meaning the state Department of Education started considering its performance normal instead of “substandard.” Under her leadership, the HCSD sold off two old school buildings and closed another school, moving some grades between buildings. Last year the Covid crisis came. Adjusting education to the new normal is still evolving.
