Mahopac School Board Hires High School Principal, Football Coach
By Neal Rentz
The academic year may be winding down in the Mahopac School District, but on June 15 the Board of Education was thinking ahead to next fall.
The school board appointed Matthew Lawrence as high school principal and Mahopac resident Dominick DeMatteo as the new varsity football coach.
Moments after the school board meeting Lawrence explained why he sought the post of high school principal.
“I’ve been a school administrator for 16 years. My first 15 years in the business was high school. I was 10 years assistant principal at two large high schools,” he said.
“It’s always been goal to be a high school principal,” Lawrence said. “I believe I’m a high school educator through and through.”
For the past three school years Lawrence has served as principal of Greenwood Lake Middle School Central School District in Monroe in Orange County. He lives in southern Dutchess County in Poughquag.
Lawrence, 47, will earn an annual salary of $167,000 in his new post.
DeMatteo said following last week’s school board meeting he welcomed the opportunity to coach and work in his community of residence. He said he has been living in Mahopac for more than a dozen years with his wife, Dianne, and his sons Anthony and Dominick.
“We simply love the community. It’s been wonderful to my family. My boys are having a great experience both academically and athletically,” he said. “So to have the opportunity to serve as an educator in the district where we live is something that’s very special to me and my family.”
At Mahopac High School next year DeMatteo will be teaching physical education in addition to his coaching duties. DeMatteo said he has been a football coach for about 23 years. He has coached both at the high school level and as an assistant coach at the collegiate level at CW Post, Columbia and Fordham Universities for eight years. Previously, he was the head football coach at Arlington High School for nine years. During the current school year DeMatteo was a physical education teacher, dean of students, and the head varsity football coach at Nyack High School in Rockland County. DeMatteo played quarterback at SUNY Albany.
DeMatteo said he has had a lifelong passion for sports.
“Athletics has been part of my entire life, both as a player and a coach,” he said, nothing many family members have been very active in athletics. “We just love it because it’s a great way to impact kids. Athletics is simply an extension of the classroom. Football’s our passion. And it’s what I believe I was born to do and I view it as a way of life really, not a job.”
DeMatteo, 45, will earn an annual salary of $97,000.
Mahopac Board of Education President Dr. Brian Mahoney explained why he and his colleagues hired Lawrence and DeMatteo
Mahoney described Lawrence as “a man of strong character and strong will. His background is very impressive.”
Lawrence “is just the right fit for the community,” Mahoney said. “His vision is exactly what the district needs at this moment. I think that his plan to work collaboratively with the teachers at the high school is something that’s very welcoming.”
Mahoney said the trustees chose DeMatteo because “he is also a man of character.”
Mahoney said it was important that the new football coach also be a physical education teacher coming to the district
“In schools today we always look for candidates who can do more than one thing,” Mahoney said. “We were fortunate to find it in Mr. DeMatteo.”
