By EJ Conzola II

NYVT Media

HARTFORD—The Hartford Central School District Board of Education has extended the contract of Superintendent Andrew Cook through the 2028-29 school year.

The board voted May 13 to add an additional year onto Cook’s contract, which would have expired at the end of the 2027-28 academic year.

The vote, which came after a roughly 30-minute closed-door session, was 4-0, with board member Adam Fish absent.

Neither the board members nor Cook made any public comments about the extension.

The extension modifies the provisions of Cook’s contract for the 2024-25 school year to include what the superintendent described as a “voluntary” salary freeze, as well as a 1% increase in the amount Cook pays toward his health insurance.

The contract does not set a salary figure for the extended period.

Cook’s current salary is $157,917, according to the state Department of Education’s superintendents’ salary database. Cook also receives a benefits package valued at $58,075, according to the database. Cook has been the Hartford superintendent since 2013. Before being named superintendent, he served for six years as the middle/high school principal. He also worked four years as a social studies teacher in the Whitehall Central School District, accor