Pasadena Elementary School principal Karen Heitner, accused of inappropriate touching, cleared of most disciplinary charges
Karen Heitner, longtime principal of Pasadena Elementary School in Plainview, has been cleared of most of the disciplinary charges filed against her. Credit: LinkedIn
A Plainview-Old Bethpage principal accused of inappropriately touching two female staffers was cleared of most of the disciplinary charges filed against her and will return to work next month — but not in her original role, according to the district and a hearing officer’s decision.
State-appointed hearing officer James Brown found Karen Heitner, the longtime principal of Pasadena Elementary School in Plainview, guilty of five administrative charges. They included some of the most serious charges involving an occupational therapist’s allegation the principal touched her buttocks at a PTA luncheon in June 2024.
Heitner was suspended with pay in August 2024 and the district sought to fire her in a disciplinary hearing known as 3020-a presided by Brown.
“Respondent should never have intentionally touched [the occupational therapist’s] buttocks in a joking or any other manner,” Brown wrote in a decision issued Tuesday. “Invading the physical and personal space of another employee by touching their buttocks, as Respondent did, can never be condoned and is not herein.”
Brown cleared Heitner of charges related to a speech therapist’s allegation that the principal also touched her buttocks. All unsustained charges, including that one, were redacted from a copy Newsday obtained through a Freedom of Information Law request from the district Wednesday.
Brown also found Heitner guilty of making a sexual comment to the same occupational therapist and the speech therapist in two separate occasions.
The final two guilty findings related to a teacher’s complaint that Heitner made her uncomfortable when the principal tried to set her up with a friend of hers. Brown said Heitner’s returning to the topic after the teacher made clear she was unwilling to further discuss it “insensitive.”
“These findings of misconduct evince a disturbing thread that runs through them, namely a troubling lack of sensitivity shown to subordinates working within the same school community,” Brown wrote.
The hearing officer exonerated Heitner of the remainder of the charges, which were based on complaints from other employees alleging she created a hostile work environment or pressured staffers to retire.
Rather than terminate her, Brown imposed a 30-day unpaid suspension.
Before reaching his conclusion, Brown cited Heitner’s “highly effective” performance reviews and her years of service without any record of formal discipline as mitigating factors.
“While there is no question that Respondent’s skill set has benefited the District (as reflected in her performance evaluations), her insensitivity and unwillingness to serve as a proper role model for the entire community must be corrected,” he wrote.
The Plainview-Old Bethpage school board voted Tuesday to implement Brown’s decision. The resolution, which did not name Heitner, said she would be suspended without pay through June 4.
Superintendent Mary O'Meara, who testified in Heitner’s hearing, said in a statement Wednesday that Heitner will be “administratively reassigned to the administration office, working in her specialized area of elementary education administration.”
Heitner declined to comment Wednesday through her attorney Edward Heilig.
“We are very happy with the decision,” Heilig said Wednesday. “We are happy for Karen to return to work.”
Heilig said the allegations against Heitner should have been handled differently.
“This should never have gone to a 3020-a,” Heilig said. “It would not have costed the taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars. … They paid her more than $200,000 to sit home for a year and a half.”
Heitner’s gross pay for 2023-24 was $202,258. The district also incurred legal fees to cover their representation in Heitner's disciplinary hearing, held over 20 full-day sessions.
From July 2024 through July 2025 alone, the district was billed more than $320,000 by Guercio & Guercio, the firm representing it in the hearing.
Christopher Mestecky, managing partner of Guercio and Guercio, declined to comment Wednesday.
The district looks forward to “moving forward with an even clearer sense of resolve around our standards of conduct,” O'Meara said in her statement.
“We hope this outcome reinforces for all our employees that how individuals are treated in our District matters,” she wrote. “The District remains firmly committed to ensuring a professional, respectful, and safe environment for all members of our school community.”
Dandan Zou covers education for Newsday. Previously, she worked for a community newspaper in Maryland and a personal finance magazine in Washington, D.C.
