Amityville schools superintendent resigns, is hired to fill Bridgehampton post
Former Amityville Superintendent Mary Kelly. Credit: Newsday / Thomas A. Ferrara
The longtime superintendent of the Amityville school district has resigned her job and was quickly hired by the Bridgehampton school district, school officials confirmed Friday.
Mary Kelly had been the superintendent in the Amityville district for over seven years when the school board accepted her resignation at its May 18 meeting. Her last day will be Monday, according to a statement issued Friday by school spokeswoman Marissa Gallo.
It's unclear whether there was any connection between Kelly's resignation and fallout in the district over a teacher accused of making a racially insensitive comment at a football game last month.
"My 13 years in Amityville, including the seven and a half years as superintendent, have been personally and professionally rewarding. I will always remember my time here with a great deal of fondness for the students and the community," Kelly said, according to a written statement provided by Gallo.
On Wednesday, eight days after the meeting, Kelly was welcomed to the Bridgehampton school district during its school board meeting. She begins that job July 1, said Gallo, who works for the company Syntax, which provides public relations for many Long Island school districts.
Bridgehampton school officials said they welcomed Kelly "with open arms," according to a statement on the district website.
Attempts to reach Kelly were unsuccessful Friday.
On May 12, the Amityville school board suspended a Memorial High School teacher accused of making a racially insensitive comment toward Black players during a livestream of an April 24 school football game.
The suspension of the teacher, who is white and was not identified, is pending a hearing by a state arbitrator.
If the teacher is found guilty of the charges or declines to go through the hearing process, the board will seek his termination, officials said.
Kelly became enmeshed in the controversy. Several parents criticized her for waiting nine days to inform the public of the incident.
In a May 3 letter posted on the district's website, Kelly said the "teacher does not speak on behalf of our school district. We find the alleged statement to be reprehensible and not aligned with Amityville’s values. While we understand and sympathize with the anger and sadness being expressed by those in our community, the district must follow proper procedures."
The comment allegedly said by the teacher used racially insensitive stereotypes, according to the Rev. Saba Mchunguzi, president of the Central Long Island NAACP branch.
Parents and members of the community lined up at the high school on May 12 to condemn the teacher and criticize what they contend was a slow response by the district to the incident.
The Amityville school district's student population is 90% Black or Hispanic, according to State Education Department data.
Another top education official in Amityville resigned during this time. Andrea Pekar, Amityville's assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, said she submitted her resignation on May 14. Her last day is June 11, she said.
Pekar said she resigned for "professional reasons," and it was unrelated to either the departure of Kelly or the incident during the football game.
She praised Kelly as "a strong advocate for students. I saw her as a visionary for Amityville."
Craig Schneider is a Long Island native and Stony Brook University alumnus. He joined Newsday as a general assignment reporter in January 2018 after 20 years at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
