Tension in Freeport school district boils over after longtime HS teacher Patty Langan reassigned

Brewing tensions in the Freeport school district reached a boiling point this week, when the transfer of a longtime high school teacher sparked a rally and an assembly turned into a protest, during which some students walked out of school.

District officials transferred teachers' union president Patty Langan, who had taught at the high school for nearly 32 years, to John W. Dodd Middle School on Monday. Some high schoolers said they were also upset over the transfer of an assistant principal, Maribel Maia, on the same day.

Langan has alleged that she was transferred in retaliation for her criticism of the school board and district leadership, which interim schools Superintendent Alice Kane denied. Kane said the decision to transfer Langan was not taken lightly but declined to comment further because it is a personnel matter.

Tensions have been growing for months in the Freeport district. In addition to this week's transfers, teachers and community members have expressed frustration that the district has not had a permanent superintendent for seven months. Objections have also been raised over changes in the district's administration and a new security policy that would require staffers to scan their fingerprints to access school buildings. And at the high school, videos have surfaced of a chaotic Spirit Week celebration in which students could be seen using their cellphones in violation of the new state ban.

“This was the most disorganized, dysfunctional school year that I've seen in 32 years,” Langan said in an interview.

But school board president Sunday Coward said that after the district's former superintendent, Kishore Kuncham, retired in 2024, the board felt there were changes that needed to be made.

“There's an uncomfortability because things are not going the way they used to,” she said. “So certain populations will feel that what they benefited from previously, and now they don't have access to, means instability. And that does not mean that.”

She added, “That means that we are moving and it's growth."

Transparency concerns

Freeport is one of Nassau County’s largest districts with more than 6,000 students, including 2,200 in its high school.

In the summer of 2024, Kuncham — who had worked in the district for 30 years, 15 as superintendent — retired. The district hired a new superintendent, Fia Davis, but reassigned her to home in April before she had finished her first year in Freeport. District officials have not given a reason for her reassignment.

Kane, a retired Freeport assistant superintendent, was hired to replace Davis on an interim basis. She is paid a per diem of $1,229, according to her employment agreement, which Newsday obtained through a Freedom of Information Law request.

At the same time, the district continues to pay Davis pending the outcome of an investigation. Her base salary for 2024-25 was $295,000 and her contract was to run until 2028.

Community members have questioned the financial cost of paying for two superintendents. Anne Desrosiers-Cox, a Freeport mother who has a son in kindergarten, said she is concerned with what she sees as a lack of transparency from the board.

"I don't care how many changes they think they're making. They still have to answer to the people that are funding the whole operation, which is us, the taxpayers, the parents and the people that work at these schools — the teachers," she said.

District officials have declined to comment on Davis' reassignment because it is a personnel matter. Ron Edelson, a district spokesman, said the investigation and negotiations with Davis are ongoing.

Davis could not be reached for comment Friday.

Teachers' union leaders have also said that were not given a chance to discuss a new policy approved by the school board that would require teachers to scan their fingerprints to enter school buildings. A pilot is set to begin with central administration in January and expanded to include teachers by next fall.

The biometrics policy was put in place as a school safety measure, district officials said. The district will negotiate with the employee bargaining units over its implementation, they said.

Another point of contention for some is the reorganization of the district's cabinet roles, with assistant superintendent titles being changed to executive directors. Critics had complained that no rationale was given for the change; at a town hall meeting in November, Kane said the move was meant to reduce redundancies and clarify lines of reporting. 

Concerns have also been raised about videos that showed dozen of high schoolers dancing in the cafeteria in October. Some students were filming the activity on their cellphones.

Kane said there was "a small group of seniors" who got "a little too spirited that day for Spirit Week." She said the district is enforcing the state's cellphone ban and what happened has not reoccurred since. 

Langan also pointed to what she said was the late release of schedules for students and teachers this school year as indication of lack of planning and disorganization. Kane said the district had to make changes because of new students and “shifts in population that we didn't expect.” She said the majority of the students had their schedule.

“In speaking to most people, and the administration,... they believe this is one of the smoothest years that we've had in a while," she said of the beginning of the school year.

Protest being investigated

On Wednesday, dozens of teachers, parents and students rallied outside the district administration building, walking on the sidewalks in frigid weather and holding signs in support of teachers. Drivers in passing cars honked and cheered them on.

The next day, Edelson and three student organizers said students at the high school were given permission to have a forum in the auditorium during third period to discuss the transfers of Langan and Maia and ask questions.

But the students and Edelson said more students than expected showed up and the crowd spilled over into the hallway. Some walked out of the building and there were two altercations between staff and students, according to district officials.

The students were back in their classroom within approximately 20 minutes and the school day resumed, Kane said.

No one was harmed. Kane said the district will investigate to identify “organizers and instigators of this disruption.”

“Those found responsible — whether students or staff — will face appropriate consequences in accordance with District policy,” she wrote in a letter to families.

She added, “Cutting classes or participating in building demonstrations that have the likelihood or potential to cause harm or disrupt learning is not an acceptable way to address concerns."

Newsday interviewed eight students and alums this week who said the recent transfers have been disruptive and there was growing division in the school.

Jennah Newton, 16, said she burst into tears when she learned Langan was moved out of her school. The junior said Langan has been her biggest cheerleader and made her feel secure in school since she was a freshman. 

“I cried. I was sad. I was furious,” the teen recalled. “It hurt me badly.”

Brian Truskolaski, 18, who graduated from Freeport High School in June, said Langan was like “a mother to everyone.”

Cora Jones, 17 and a senior whose parents teach at the high school, said teachers are students’ first line of support and she felt Langan genuinely cared about students.

“Every Friday, she would bring food for all of her classes,” Jones said. “You have one wrong look on your face, and it's: ‘What's wrong? Let's sit down. Let's talk about it.’”

Adriana Campbell, 16 and a junior, said she and others were upset to learn about Maia's transfer.

“She’s supposed to be with us until we graduate,” Campbell said. “They're just going to transfer her in the middle of the year and just replace her like it's nothing? That does not make sense.”

Edelson said Maia was transferred to an elementary school to fill a vacancy there.

Students made posters in support of the educators and they were taken down. Edelson said students’ signs were removed because they were put up without permission.

Thursday's events left some students feeling unsettled.

“It was overwhelming and stressful,” said Deylin Flores, 16, a junior. “One of my closest friends got overwhelmed and burst out crying: ‘What is going on with our school?’ ”