Jeff Evoy, Medina school superintendent, dies unexpectedly
District leader credited with raising student achievement
MEDINA – The Medina school district community is mourning the death of Jeff Evoy, the district’s superintendent for nearly five years.
Evoy died this afternoon. He had been battling a serious illness the past month, Board of Education President Wendi Pencille said.
“It’s just devastating,” she said this evening. “He was a very stand-up guy. He was so proud of every child in the district.”
Evoy started as Medina district superintendent on Nov. 1, 2011 after working as principal of Pembroke Primary School. He started his career at Albion as a social studies teacher and was a finalist for the New York State Teacher of the Year in 2003. He was a key leader for Albion in starting the district’s character education program, which included the Vietnam Memorial in front of the middle school.
He welcomed the chance to lead Medina Central School, his home district where two of his children graduated. He helped push student achievement while the district reduced taxes, and also partnered with Lyndonville Central School on several athletic and extracurricular programs, including the musical.
Pencille said Evoy was highly visible in the school buildings, and was popular with students, staff and teachers.
“I am very concerned for both the students and teachers because they loved him,” Pencille said.
The Class of 2016 graduates on Friday evening. Pencille said a moment of silence will be observed for Evoy. She said Evoy wouldn’t want commencement to be a sad occasion.
“He would want us to celebrate the kids’ achievements,” she said. “We’re going to do what he would want us to do.”
Evoy would have turned 51 on Saturday. Pencille said he worked hard for the district, and remained active in community organizations, including the Medina Sandstone Society.
“He completely embraced every aspect of the district,” Pencille said. “Under his leadership the graduation rate went up, test scores improved. His goal was to improve education for the kids and he did it with integrity and hard work.”
