By Philly Bubaris
(Philly is a former student of the Smithtown School District)
Ed Ehmann photo by smithtownradio.comSitting at his desk, looking at his stained glass windows and bookshelves filled with old yearbooks, Superintendent Ed Ehmann can’t help but remember being 16, walking through the halls of Smithtown schools with a mop and broom as a custodian in 1965.
“Not too many people stay in the same district their whole lives, for me it was just basically a coincidence,” Ehmann said. After attending college and serving in the army for two years, he started working in Smithtown again as a substitute teacher.
He climbed the ladder from a substitute teacher, to middle school and high school principal for nine years, and then to superintendent of schools. He now resides in the central office where he runs the district with 11,000 students in nine elementary schools, three middle schools, and two high schools. Last month, at age 62, after working in Smithtown for 37 years, Ehmann announced his retirement.
Ehmann has worked with students of all ages throughout his career. Of all the roles he has had, being superintendent has given him the most opportunity to put programs in motion for the entire district, but he misses daily contact with students.
“The more removed you get from kids, the harder it is to feel like you are in education rather than business,” he said.
After graduating from St. Anthony’s high school, Ehmann majored in English and minored in education at Dowling College. He readily admits that the only reason he wanted to go to college was to play basketball. “I think in college I wasn’t really that super serious as a student,” he said. “I was more of a basketball player who was going to college.”
After college, he was drafted into the army, which gave him the opportunity to read hundreds of books, his favorite being To Kill a Mocking Bird. “It was there [in the service] that I really stepped up my intellectual pursuit of knowledge,” Ehmann said.
When he returned after two years of serving as a military policeman, he became a substitute teacher at Great Hollow Middle School, and the rest is history.
He married his wife Susan in 1976. They have two children, Marissa and Michael, both in their late 20s. No grandchildren yet, but he says he is looking forward to the day. His wife, Susan, ended up in the district as a reading teacher at St. James Elementary. “She is a very talented reading teacher who has written some highly successful books,” Ehmann said of his wife.
Ironically, Ehmann’s children didn’t go to Smithtown School District because he is a resident of Stony Brook and has been for 30 years.
Bob Rossi, past president of the board of education, was on the committee that chose Ehmann as the superintendent five years ago. He said Ehmann’s concern for the district is tremendous, even though he isn’t a Smithtown resident. “He has a love and compassion for the district that is very hard to find,” said Rossi of Ehmann. “He cares for the community, the students, and all the employees.” He said Ehmann knew how Smithtown operated, so when he was hired, the district continued to run without any lag time.
So, what does a man who has spent 37 years as an educator do next? For now, he wants to take a few months off to enjoy retired life. He loves to travel and explore in historical places. Sports have always been a big part of his life. In 1981, he coached the girls’ varsity tennis team for ten years, along with the girls’ basketball team and boys’ junior varsity team. So, he is looking forward to getting back to tennis and biking.
In 1975, he rode cross-country on his bike, and maybe now he will have time to do it again. “I don’t know if I am up for a cross country trip…” Ehmann said with a chuckle. “But I will be back on the bike.”
He is looking to do work without compensation and give back to the community. “There are kids who are sitting in hospitals right now, bored out of their minds,” he said. He wants to read to kids and help them understand the importance of receiving an education. 
Ed Ehmann with Accompset Students
Gladys Waldron, current president of the school board, has been on the board for 34 years. She has worked with Ehmann closely for the last five years, he was the high school principal when her kids were in school, their relationship goes back to the beginning of Ehmann’s career.
“He has a great sense of humor, he is very articulate,” she said. “He knows our Smithtown community.”
She said the last couple of years have been difficult because of the major problems within the district. But, she said overall, Ehmann has done a great job for the board and the district.
As they look for someone to fill his position, Waldron says she is concerned.n“There is a concern looking for someone who will fit the bill, you are always worried about that,” she said.
According to Waldron, Ehmann’s institutional knowledge of the school district was very helpful to board members and made him a great asset.
But Ehmann still has eight full months left as superintendent, so he isn’t checking out quite yet. He says there is still work to be done and is confident that all the work that is happening within the district now will continue to happen without him.
“It is not about who is the superintendent, it is about who are the teachers and who are the students,” he said.
He said he isn’t in reflective mode, but he believes that his career was perfectly scripted. “First and foremost I consider myself a teacher,” he said. “And that is what I truly believe.”