Catania, of Saranac Lake, plans to retire at the end of this school year after a 37-year-career in public education. Seymour, a Malone resident, was announced the top pick to replace Catania on Thursday.

The school board plans to appoint Seymour to the job on June 1.

“We had some excellent candidates to consider, and this was a tough decision, but we feel it’s the right choice to grow and strengthen our district in this important moment for education,” school board President Rick Preston wrote in a statement.

Seymour has been the superintendent of the St. Regis Falls Central School District since 2019, according to a news release from LPCSD and Franklin-Essex-Hamilton BOCES. Before that, he was the principal and program director of Northern Borders Academy and P-TECH. He previously had some administrative experience in Chateaugay, and he worked as a social studies teacher for nine years. He received a master’s degree in teaching social studies from SUNY Potsdam and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

Seymour was chosen from a field of 30 candidates who applied for the job. Of those, six were given a first-round interview. Three were named finalists for the role last month, but one of those finalists, Margaret Wright, dropped out of the running before her final interview. The other finalist was Dana Wood, who is currently working at Lake Placid Central School District as its assistant superintendent for business. Wood was the former principal of the high school and before that a social studies teacher in Saranac Lake.

Seymour did not immediately return a request for comment before press time on Thursday.

The current superintendent, Catania, submitted a letter announcing his retirement to the Lake Placid Board of Education in February. Catania worked at Lake Placid High School as a counselor for several years long before he was the school’s superintendent, but his long career in public education also included a stint as a professor at Alfred University, and other teaching and counselor jobs at Gilchrist High School and the J.B. Thomas Junior High School in Oregon.

Catania is generally well-liked among the community and has served as Lake Placid’s superintendent since 2013.