NEW SCOTLAND — James Southard, Voorheesville’s assistant superintendent for finance and operations since January 2021, died unexpectedly last week. He was 51.

Southard died Friday, Oct. 18, “after complications from a brief illness,” according to his obituary. 

He was hired by the district in November 2020, telling The Enterprise a few months later about what he hoped to achieve in his time at Voorheesville: “I think the goal whenever you go to a district is to try to make sure you leave it a little better than you found it. And that’s pretty much it. I mean, it’s making sure we have the systems in place to accomplish everything. We need to make sure we’re watching every penny, because it’s the taxpayers’ money.”

Before coming to Voorheesville, Southard worked for 13 years in the 303-student DeRuyter Central School District in Madison County, 33 miles southeast of Syracuse. Before DeRuyter, Southard spent four years in the public sector in the Syracuse City School District, where he started in 2004.

The Voorheesville Central School District in its announcement of Southard’s death said he “was an integral part of the school community for almost four years.”

Superintendent Frank Macri said as part of the statement, “Jim was a true partner in his dedication to the Voorheesville school community. He was a quiet force. His care and attention to helping improve our instructional programs and facilities have left a lasting legacy. He was a dear friend and colleague, and will be sorely missed.” 

Southard “was usually the smartest person in any room he was in, which was intimidating to a lot of people, despite him never lording that fact over anyone,” according to his obituary. “His wit and sarcasm were a joy for anyone to be around, if you got the joke. Jim was an accomplished business official for many school districts over his career, deftly helping put their budgets to right. His love of and adroitness for numbers was obvious to anyone that knew him .…”

In his time at Voorheesville, the district stated, Southard “played a pivotal role in developing and maintaining the district budget with an unwavering commitment to providing students with exceptional educational opportunities. 

“Southard helped lead the district in many facilities improvements including the 2022 capital improvement project focused on creating a more secure and user-friendly campus ….”