Dr. Rubie Harris Appointed Assistant Superintendent

Huntington School Board members unanimously approved Dr. Rubie Harris to serve as Huntington UFSD’s assistant superintendent for finance and management services, effective July 17. She will replace the retiring Dr. Kathleen Acker, who has held the post since August 2015.

Dr. Harris has been the Grand Island Central School District’s assistant superintendent of business and finance since August 2018. She earlier worked as the Tonawanda City School District’s director of business and finance for four years and as a junior accountant at the Niagara Falls City School District for four years.

Dr. Harris earned a bachelor of business administration degree in accounting; an MBA in accounting and a Ph.D. in leadership and policy, all at Niagara University. She’s a member of the Association of School Business Officials International and the New York State Association of School Business Officials, serving on its board of directors and on its membership committee.

“We are beyond pleased to welcome Dr. Harris to our team,” Superintendent James W. Polansky said. “She brings a wealth of knowledge and skill to the district and I am confident that she will help maintain Huntington’s reputation for fiscal prudence. I am equally as confident that her new colleagues will truly enjoy working with her.”

Dr. Harris’ dissertation was titled, “The Financial Planning of New York State School Business Officials in Districts That Experienced the Negative Tax Cap Issue Since the Implementation of the 2011 Tax Levy Limitation Law: A Mixed Method Study.”

Huntington UFSD’s new central office administrator has served as an adjunct professor at Niagara University, teaching a graduate level course in school business administration.

Dr. Harris said she “works hard to encourage the shared vision of serving the needs of the community of learners by being proactive in finding cost-effective solutions to assist when state funding is continuously unknown.”