The Bemus Point Central School Board of Education will review options for filling its superintendent position by April. Photo by Jo Ward

The Bemus Point Central School Board of Education will discuss it options at superintendent at a special meeting in the future, board president Barry Swanson said.

Michael Mansfield, Bemus Point Central School District superintendent, was approved as the next superintendent within the Dunkirk City Schools District during a board of education meeting Feb. 11.

“Our board of education congratulates Mr. Mansfield on his appointment and will continue to work with him until he assumes his new role in Dunkirk,” Swanson said.

For Mansfield, who has four years remaining on his current contract with Bemus Point, said plans to move on from the district were not considered prior to Dunkirk’s superintendent search.

Around December, Mansfield said he submitted his application to be considered by the Dunkirk school board.

“He made the board aware that he was in the final running for the position,” Swanson said, adding that Mansfield will assist in the transition process with his future replacement.

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When reached following his appointment, Mansfield reflected on his time at Bemus Point. He highlighted the advancements the district has made in STEM education, or Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics; technology, specifically becoming a 1-to-1 district with student assigned Chromebooks; the completion of the 2013 Capital Construction Project which was approved by the community in Mansfield’s first year as superintendent; and overall academic achievement and opportunities, primarily with the district’s ability to offer 10 advanced placement courses.

Asked what he’ll miss most about Bemus Point after he moves to Dunkirk, he said, “You miss the people.”

He described the decision to leave Bemus Point as “very difficult.”

Swanson said the board will discuss its options going forward, which include appointing an interim superintendent until a proper superintendent employment search can be conducted.

Mansfield served as superintendent at Bemus Point for seven years following two years as Bemus Point Elementary School principal. Before his current school district, Mansfield also served as an assistant principal at Jamestown High School and the principal at Fletcher Elementary School, both within the Jamestown Public Schools District.

“Dunkirk had an opening so they had reached out through their search to inquire about my interest so I applied and through the process it turned out we had a very strong fit in terms of my background and skills in what they were looking for as their new superintendent,” Mansfield said.

Mansfield’s last day at Bemus Point will be April 17.

In addition to his experience in Jamestown, which he described as similar to Dunkirk, Mansfield said school-related issues are mirrored from district to district in some cases.

“Schools have a lot of the same issues in our county here so taking that experience from Jamestown which has a lot of similarities in Dunkirk in terms of diversity and poverty and so on and mixing it with the experience at Bemus Point in all honesty in my time here our poverty stats have nearly doubled we all face many of the same issues and a lot of the skills and knowledge are going to apply in any district.”