Dr. Tom Dolan will be leaving the superintendent's post at the Franklin Square School District to become school superintendent of the Great Neck School District, a K-12 district beginning July 1.

The announcement was made by Great Neck Public School Board of Education President Barbara Berkowitz. Dr. Dolan will be introduced to the Great Neck community at the March 16 school board meeting.

Dr. Dolan spent a large portion of his career in education in Franklin Square and grew extremely fond of the community, so much so that he returned to Franklin Square for the 2006-2007 school year to be the superintendent of the Franklin Square School District, a K-6 district.

For seven and a half years, Dr. Dolan served as the principal of H. Frank Carey High School in Franklin Square, where he formed a close bond with the community.

In January 2001, Dr. Dolan left Carey High School to become an assistant superintendent of the Manhasset School District. When Franklin Square Superintendent Dr. Timothy Lafferty retired in 2006, Dr. Dolan returned to Franklin Square to become the superintendent of the school district that sends its students to Carey High School.

Dr. Dolan will take over as superintendent of Great Neck, a district with three high schools, two middle schools and five elementary schools, this summer. "It's a wonderful and unique opportunity. I am looking forward to it," he said.

For Dr. Dolan, it will be sad leaving Franklin Square. "It still consider myself of Franklin Square. I will always hold the community in the highest regard," he said.

Until he departs, Dr. Dolan said there is still work to be done. In the upcoming months, a budget will be presented to the taxpayers of the district. "I'm here through July 1 and there's a lot of work left to do and it's very important to me that I leave this place in great shape and I'm going to," he said.

– Joe Rizza