Newfield school district superintendent to retire following upcoming school year

When Eric Hartz was in 11th grade at Ithaca High School, he wasn’t sure what his future would hold.

Hartz knew he wanted to be a football coach. His father, however, convinced him that if he wanted to coach, he should also be a teacher.

After more than 30 years as an educator, Hartz is set to retire as the Newfield Central School District (CSD) superintendent following the 2024-25 school year. He announced his decision at a recent board of education meeting.

“It’s just time,” Hartz said. “I’ve done a lot of different things in education. I’ve worked with kids ages two to three, all the way up to being superintendent. Newfield has been amazing, and it’s been great to work here. It’s my choice to go, and that’s the way it should be.”

Hartz graduated from Ithaca High School in 1984 and went on to receive his bachelor’s and master’s degrees and administration certificate from SUNY Cortland. He was a nose guard and captain on the Red Dragons football team for four years in the late 1980s.

Hartz began his career as a physical education teacher at the Special Children’s Center in 1991. Following two stints as a physical education teacher and football coach at Dryden Central School District between the mid-1990s and early 2000s, he became an assistant principal at South Seneca CSD. Hartz went on to hold principal positions at the Groton and Lansing central school districts.

About 20 years into his career, Hartz decided to take a four-year hiatus from education and work at a construction management company. 

He realized quickly how much he missed working in schools. In October 2017, Hartz was hired as the middle school principal at Newfield CSD.

Hartz, 58, stepped into the superintendent role in 2020. This fall, he’ll be entering his fifth year at the helm. When Hartz realized he wanted to retire soon, he immediately informed the board of education.

“I felt like giving a year’s notice was fair to the board,” Hartz said. “Finding administrators isn’t easy, especially superintendents nowadays. I felt they needed time to work [and find a replacement].”

One accomplishment that Hartz is proud of is anchoring Newfield CSD in a financial rebuild after “fiscally [being] in rough shape” from the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Hartz noted that emergency relief funding and some help from the state put the district in the right direction.

“We got some good people in here, tightened the straps and took a good look [at finances] with some auditors,” Hartz said. “With us being fiscally and financially smart, we were in a good place. It’s one of the things in this district that’s super important to me.”

With the school district financially stable, Newfield turned to preparing for the $21 million capital project. The district is submitting plans in October, Hartz said, and the goal is to begin the project next summer.

“We’re deep into it,” Hartz said. “When that project is all said and done, our bus garage is going to be all revamped and new, the parking lots will be done and have some safe entranceways to the schools, along with some detailed work.”

Hartz, who loves working for rural schools, has enjoyed Newfield’s close-knit community and getting to know people on a personal level. This has assisted Hartz in building relationships with various individuals and organizations.

“Building relationships is important to me, along with trust and understanding,” Hartz said.

Hartz has watched plenty of children go from elementary school to high school in what seemed like a short amount of time. It’s part of what he’ll miss the most about being around kids.

“I got into this business many, many years ago for the kids,” Hartz said. “I wanted to see kids be successful. They’re going to be what I miss the most. It’s fun, especially when you’ve been in a district for a long time.”

The level of socialization that Hartz had with the community and the ability to “talk about anything” is why he believes that Newfield CSD “will be in a place for someone to take over and be able keep the ball rolling with their own twist.”

“This is a unique, small community that I value very much,” Hartz said. “This community has helped me learn and to be a better person. This community has been good about being approachable and coming to me to work on things. They’ve also been a huge contributor to getting out of the financial deficit we were in.”

Newfield Notes appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com.

In brief:

Shows rescheduled for Newfield Music Series

The Newfield Music Series at Mill Park has new dates for shows that were postponed in June and July.

The new series’ lineup is as follows, with each show beginning at 6 p.m.:

• Today (Aug. 7): Tim Ball & Mark Bickford
• Aug. 14: Square dancing with Caller Marc Faris
• Aug. 21: Cast Iron Cowboys
• Aug. 28: Rev Ezra

Further information about the Newfield Music Series at Mill Park can be found on the event’s Facebook and Instagram pages.