The Gananda Central School Board held a special celebration prior to their regular board meeting on January 10, 2023.

The date of the meeting exactly corresponded to the original forming of the district 50 years ago - January 10, 1973.

To honor the founding of its district, and the original 7-member board, the current school board members invited former board members to attend, honoring them with photos, scrapbooks, cake and a big thanks for their service.

The inaugural members of the Gananda Board of Education were: Reverend Paul Cauvel, Richard Mann, Sharon Stanton, William Miller, Martha Mantel, Edward Lonneville and Fred Switzer.

Former members of the school board over the years, who attended on Tuesday night included: Fred Switzer, Martha Mantel Preston, Joyce Rothfuss, Charles “Chip” Rieck, Richard Reese, Chuck Rothfuss, Lena Corleto, Mark Smorol, Steve Nims, Tom Wesley, Lynda Dermady, and Greg Whitney.

Each guest reminisced about the events that occurred during their tenures. They celebrated the fact that, 50 years and 3 school buildings later, the District is going strong. Through a very touching video presentation, the history of the district was remembered from 1973 to present. The first Superintendent of Schools was Dr. Larry Pedersen, who served from 1974 until 1997.

The district began in the building located on Dayspring Ridge, known as the “Neighborhood Center”, and later the “Middle School”. It would house grades K-12 for years. With the growing student population, an Elementary School, named original board member Richard Mann was completed in 1988. It would be home to grades K-3, until expansion in the early 1990s that would add 4th and 5th grade to the school building.

Growth again saw the construction of a High School Building, named for early School Board member Ruben Cirillo. It was completed in 2002.

As the original school building grew with its student population, the very first graduating class at Gananda Central

was in 1982. At that time 25 students were part of the senior class. Known for its small class sizes, Gananda now has graduating classes of about 60 students. Education at Gananda runs from Pre-K through Grade 12.