Shah appointed Catskill's new superintendent

CATSKILL―Junait Shah was appointed by the board of education on Wednesday night as the district’s new superintendent.

Shah, who was serving as the board’s president, spent seven years as an administrator in Catskill until August of 2024.

Mike Dedrick, the board’s newly elected president as of Wednesday, said in a statement that the decision to ask Shah to take the position was unanimous.

“We know Junait well.  He holds the required credentials and certification, has a strong educational background, and is widely regarded as a leader of integrity and vision within our school community,” said Dedrick.

“To be eligible to be considered, he resigned his board position,” Dedrick explained, adding that the board interviewed Shah as it did all other candidates.

A copy of Shah’s contract with the district was not immediately available.

Earlier this year, the board engaged a professional consultant to conduct a search for a superintendent following the resignation of Dr. Dan Wilson last summer. John Xanthis has been serving as interim superintendent since September.

The search process, Dedrick said, “was thorough and deliberate,” but two candidates, one after the other, accepted the position only to later decline.

“Following those disappointments, the board met with our search consultant and with legal counsel to carefully consider our path forward. In the course of those conversations, it became clear to the board that we had an exceptional candidate much closer to home— someone who knows this district, is respected by staff and families alike, and who has already demonstrated a deep commitment to our students and community,” Dedrick said.

“That person is Junait Shah,” he added.

Shah had resigned as high school principal after the then-board of education placed him on administrative leave over a purported certification issue. He was swiftly picked up by the Coxsackie-Athens Central School District as the director of technology,

His departure from Catskill came just months after turmoil over the so-called “Tape Gate” incident in which Musical Director Michelle Storrs-Ryan allegedly placed tape on an eleventh-grader’s mouth during a rehearsal for Cinderella. Both Shah and Storrs-Ryan were temporarily suspended by Wilson pending internal investigation, sparking widespread outrage within the Catskill community, a student walk-out, protests, a march, packed board of education meetings, calls for Wilson’s resignation, and a 2,000-plus signature petition demanding Shah and Storrs’ reinstatement.

Numerous parents along with current and former students spoke out in support of Shah who was described as a beloved principal. The suspensions ultimately influenced the outcome of the 2024 board of education election, with voters seating four new members.

When Shah ran for the board of education in May of 2025, he was the top vote-getter and later appointed board president.

“We recognize that this process did not unfold the way any of us anticipated. But we are confident that what began as a setback has led us to exactly the right leader for the district at this moment in time,” said Dedrick. “We believe the community will come to share that confidence.”