It is with deep admiration and appreciation for his near decade of service to the Fayetteville-Manlius Central School District that we announce that Dr. Craig Tice, Superintendent of Schools, has decided to retire during the 2025-26 school year.
Since his arrival in July of 2015, Dr. Tice has provided steadfast leadership over all aspects of the District operations, from educational programming, to recruiting and selecting highly effective educational leaders, and, by working in partnership with the Board, developing and managing the District budget. In his role, Dr. Tice has provided oversight on two major capital improvement projects, at Wellwood Middle School and F-M High School, as well as a number of smaller capital transfer projects in which enhancements and upgrades were made to all six school buildings. Dr. Tice championed the school district’s membership in the prestigious Tri-State Consortium, which has allowed F-M to collaborate with other high-performing school districts in New York, Connecticut and New Jersey. During Dr. Tice’s tenure, F-M was identified as an American Association of School Administrators (AASA) National Demonstration System, which honors districts that encourage innovative teaching practices in addition to promoting greater student voice/choice in the teaching and learning process. Additionally, under Dr. Tice’s leadership, all three of our elementary schools (Mott Road in 2020, Fayetteville Elementary in 2021 and Enders Road in 2023) were individually recognized as National Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence. Throughout his tenure with F-M, Dr. Tice has demonstrated a commitment towards continuous improvement and the pursuit of best practices in education through his engagement in numerous leadership roles and organizations, both statewide and nationally.
The Board of Education is committed to maintaining the high educational standards of the Fayetteville-Manlius Central School District, and will plan and execute a thorough Superintendent search to find and select the best candidate to succeed Dr. Tice. We will share that process with the community as we proceed. The specific timing for Dr. Tice’s retirement during the 2025-26 school year will be dependent on the progress of our search process and the availability of qualified candidates for Superintendent. However, we are currently focused on the upcoming 2024-25 school year, which is not affected in any way by this announcement. We are grateful to Dr. Tice for his leadership and dedication to the District and look forward to our continued positive partnership over the next two years.