Locust Valley board, superintendent agree to $600,000 settlement

The Locust Valley School District will pay outgoing Superintendent Anna F. Hunderfund, who was placed on paid leave in January, $600,000 to end her employment with the district, according to a settlement agreement.

Hunderfund, one of the highest-paid administrators in the state, will continue to receive her salary and be paid for unused vacation and sick time as well as other perks through June, according to the settlement agreement obtained by Newsday through a Freedom of Information Law request.

The district never gave a reason why Hunderfund, who had been superintendent of the district since 2008, was placed on leave. The settlement agreement, dated Oct. 1, said she agreed to retire from her position and would continue to be on paid leave of absence until June 30. The district announced her retirement earlier this month.

Hunderfund made $385,297 in total compensation in 2017-18, according to state data.

The settlement said Hunderfund and the district have denied any wrongdoing or impropriety, and that on March 18 and thereafter, the board and Hunderfund had made “various allegations, claims and charges as to each other’s acts.” The settlement then reads that both parties do not admit any wrongdoing and the agreement represents “amicably resolving any and all matters in controversy, disputes … .”

The settlement prohibits school board members from making any “negative or disparaging statements” about Hunderfund, and releases the district from any litigation or further legal challenges. The agreement also states that “the district represents and acknowledges there are no negative statements about Hunderfund in her personnel records and agrees not to include any negative statement about her in the future.”

Hunderfund signed the agreement Oct. 3.

Superintendent settlement agreement by Newsday on Scribd

Board president Jennifer Maselli did not return a request for comment Thursday. District officials also did not immediately return a request for comment. Hunderfund also could not be reached for comment.

The vote to place Hunderfund on leave in January was unanimous, with one trustee absent. The district has hired two interim administrators since. The current acting superintendent, Thomas Dolan, is being paid $5,000 a week to run the 2,000-student district.

After Hunderfund was placed on leave, the board unanimously appointed retired Hicksville schools Superintendent Carl Bonuso to serve as acting superintendent. Bonuso was paid $1,000 a day, according to documents from the district.

In August, according to the district's website, Bonuso, who was committed to a short-term contract, stepped down. The board then named Dolan, a former interim president of Nassau Community College and ex-superintendent in Great Neck.