After an extensive search process, the Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake Board of Education at a special meeting on April 1, officially appointed Dr. Christopher Abdoo as the district’s seventh Superintendent.
Dr. Abdoo currently serves as BH-BL’s Assistant Superintendent for Support Services and has more than 25 years of experience in public education, coupled with a strong background in operational leadership, school finance, and institutional organization. He is slated to succeed Dr. Patrick McGrath, who will retire at the end of the school year.
“We are excited for Dr. Abdoo to become BH-BL’s next superintendent of schools,” said School Board President Don Marshall, who at the beginning of the search process emphasized the Board’s commitment to conduct a comprehensive, inclusive and transparent search process, which included forming a Hiring Committee composed of various stakeholder groups (i.e., parents, residents, staff, and students) to participate in the search process and make recommendations to the Board.
“Dr. Abdoo’s professional experience, along with 14 years of district knowledge, showed the entire board his deep commitment to students and staff, his collaborative leadership style, and his clear understanding of how to lead a district through both opportunity and growth. His experience and values align closely with our community’s expectations for excellence,” adds Marshall.
In Dr. Abdoo’s current role, he is responsible for assisting the Superintendent of Schools with the direction, coordination, planning, operation and evaluation of BH-BL’s academic programming. His professional background also reflects extensive experience in personnel management where he currently oversees more than 300 non-instructional BH-BL personnel, the operation and maintenance of district facilities, the school lunch program, the pupil transportation program, accounting and payroll operations, purchasing operations, district security, technology operations and community use of facilities.
Dr. Abdoo also serves as a lead evaluator for teacher evaluations across all five district buildings, participates in all district contract negotiations with collective bargaining organizations; carries out long- and short-range financial planning for the entire district; guides the district in school environment safety, insurance, and risk management decisions; and has oversight of all financial reporting. Additionally, in collaboration with the superintendent and shared-decision making committees, Dr. Abdoo has led large-scale school improvement and renovation projects within the district, more specifically the 2013, 2018 and 2023 projects.
In addition to being BH-BL’s Assistant Superintendent, Dr. Abdoo serves as an Executive Coach for doctoral candidates at Russell Sage College, was the 2025 New York State recipient of the Association of School Business Officials (ASBO) Volunteer Service Award, has provided new Board of Education members with state-required trainings, serves on the Board of Directors for ASBO-New York, is a published author of journal articles on teacher recruitment and retention as well as effective collaboration among board members and central administration, and has been an adjunct professor in the Educational Leadership programs at both the College of Saint Rose and Russell Sage College since 2019.
Prior to joining the BH-BL administrative team, Dr. Abdoo served as the director of business & finance for the Rome City School District, the business administrator for the Frankfort-Schuyler Central School District, a social studies teacher at the New Hartford Central School District, and an accountant/auditor for Ernst & Young LLP’s Manhattan office.
Dr. Abdoo holds a B.S. in Accounting from Binghamton University, an M.S. in Social Studies Education from Syracuse University, a Certificate of Advanced Study in Educational Administration/Leadership from the State University of New York College at Cortland, and a Doctorate of Education from the Sage Colleges. His doctoral dissertation focused on factors that influenced the recruitment and retention of teachers in the Capital Region.
He lives in the district with his wife Melissa and their two daughters.
“I am profoundly honored and deeply grateful for the trust the Board of Education has placed in me,” said Dr. Abdoo. “Having been a dedicated member of this community for 14 years, I am excited to continue partnering with our exceptional students, administrators, faculty, staff, and families. My commitment is to continue to uphold and advance the tradition of excellence that defines the Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake School District, guiding us forward through both opportunity and change so that we continue to provide a world-class educational experience for all of our students.”
Dr. Abdoo was selected following a comprehensive search process. The process involved collecting feedback from various community stakeholders regarding what they hoped to see in the school district’s next leader. Feedback was gathered from employees, families, students and community members through an open survey and a series of forums and focus groups. Capital Region BOCES District Superintendent Lauren Gemmill served as the search consultant for BH-BL.
Dr. Abdoo will begin his new role as Superintendent of Schools on July 1, 2026.