Mineola school board adds 2 weeks to Superintendent Michael Nagler's suspension
The Mineola school board voted 5-0 on Thursday to extend Superintendent Michael Nagler's suspension until their Feb. 5 meeting. Credit: Jeff Bachner
The Mineola school board Thursday extended the suspension of Superintendent Michael Nagler, who has been accused of violating the district’s ethics code and his employment contract — leaving the longtime educator’s professional future uncertain for at least another two weeks.
Board members voted 5-0 to continue Nagler's suspension until the next board meeting, scheduled for Feb. 5. They also extended the appointment of Catherine Fishman, deputy superintendent under Nagler, to continue serving as acting superintendent.
The board voted to suspend Nagler at their Jan. 8 meeting after an outside investigator concluded that the superintendent's investment in a private company he co-founded with his son violated the district’s ethics code, which forbids employees to hold any investment in a financial business that creates a conflict with their duties. The investigator said Nagler also violated his employment contract, which states he is to keep the board advised of the administration of the district and provide written notice to the board if he was to engage in other education-related activities.
Nagler had been under investigation since October after parents complained about a new program known as “Build Your Own Grade,” which was used for eighth graders at the beginning of the school year. The program was supported by a learning management system developed by Quave, a company Nagler created with his son.
WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND
- The Mineola school board voted Thursday to extend Superintendent Michael Nagler's suspension another two weeks, to Feb. 5.
- The superintendent has been accused of violating the district’s ethics code and his employment contract over a private company, Quave, he co-founded with his son.
- Nagler had been under investigation after parents complained about a new program known as “Build Your Own Grade,” which was supported by a learning management system developed by Quave.
At Thursday night's meeting, school board president Cheryl Lampasona read aloud from a resolution that said the extension would give board members more time to continue reviewing the report submitted by Nathaniel Nichols, a Whiteman Osterman & Hanna LLP attorney the district hired to investigate Nagler.
Nagler did not attend the school board meeting, which was livestreamed.
Nagler could not be reached for comment Friday. His attorney, Jacinda Conboy, general counsel for the New York State Council of School Superintendents, did not respond to a request for comment Friday.
Reading from prepared remarks, Lampasona and Fishman sought to assure teachers and administrators, some of whom attended Thursday’s meeting, of their continued support.
Lampasona said narratives suggesting that Mineola is “fundamentally broken or corrupt or failing” do not reflect “the reality of work that occurs every day in our schools.”
Further, she said: “A narrative that administrators who served this district under the current superintendent should be fired is not justified.”
Administrators union president, Steven Benner, who attended Thursday’s meeting, declined to comment.
In her remarks, Fishman said she will not ask teachers and administrators “to abandon carefully planned work, change what they do under pressure or operate on conditions of fear or instability.”
“Educators are professionals, but they are human beings first,” Fishman told the crowd Thursday. “Combative comments, accusations and criticisms are hurtful and destructive. They deserve trust, respect and stability to do their work.”
She did not elaborate on what she meant by “carefully planned work.” In an email Friday, she said it was not a reference to the Build Your Own Grade program, which the district ended in October.
Nichols, the investigator, said staffers developed the BYOG curriculum during their salaried hours. In interviews with staff, he wrote in the report, some told him that the program was viewed by those working on it as a good thing that would benefit students.
Lampasona on Thursday night defended the program.
“BYOG was rooted in research,” she said. “It went awry. I will give you that. But the actual premise of it is research-based. Nothing we do in this district is not research-based.”
An official with the teachers’ union could not be reached Friday.
Parents attending the meeting pushed back on the characterization that teachers were criticized, with someone in the audience yelling out: “We love our teachers.”
Bob Citro, the father of an eighth-grader, said during public comment that he supports the teachers and their work.
“Lesson plans are challenging. They are difficult to come up with,” he said. “I'm sure there is a ton of thought that goes into it. I couldn't even guess what it is. I'm not a teacher so I would never question that.”
Nagler came under investigation last fall after parents complained about BYOG, which was hosted on a learning management system developed by Nagler’s son James Nagler, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology student.
Nichols said the superintendent formed the company, Quave, with his son without the board’s authorization and at his own expense of about $10,000. Board members believed the learning management system James Nagler built was an internal, voluntary project.
Margaret Ballantyne-Mannion, a board trustee, said Thursday she and others on the board were “blindsided by some of this stuff.”
Nagler, who was among the 16 witnesses Nichols interviewed, said he formed Quave to obtain a tax write-off and shield his son from liability, according to Nichols' report. Nagler said he would be willing to sell or gift the IP to the district since the learning management system was not a "money-maker," the report said.
No district funds were expended for the development of the learning management system that James Nagler built. Nichols concluded: "Although no financial gain was to be had at present, the interest is no less present."
Nagler has worked in the Mineola district since 1999 and served as its superintendent since 2009.
Toward the end of the meeting, Stephanie Guariglia, a mother, conveyed a message through public comment that appeared to be aimed at Nagler, without mentioning him by name.
“If you cared for a district for 25 years and you worked your tail off, … you will let us move on,” she said. “You will let us turn the page, and you will do it for the good of the district.”
Dandan Zou covers education for Newsday. Previously, she worked for a community newspaper in Maryland and a personal finance magazine in Washington, D.C.
