12 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • APRIL 2018
IN THE NEWS
HEMPSTEAD SCHOOL CRISIS:
SHOOTING THE MESSENGER
By EDEN LAIKIN
“They can’t expect progress when
When Hempstead schools hired
they’re not making any changes.”
Shimon Waronker last May, his
record of turning around unsafe
from 20 days to 2 years and the
the cesspool stopped the
and low-performing schools in
district was still billing the state for
cleanup.”
the New York City system made
those students.
administrators and parents believe
Later in the
he was the savior of the beleaguered
• He asked “master teachers” he
declaration, Waronker
district.
hired to apply for a $5.4 million
said: “It is also clear
community schools grant because
to me that the actions
Waronker would bring in his team
an administrator originally asked to
taken against me have
and the New American Initiative
prepare the grants, missed the state
been acts of retaliation
model curriculum he developed, and
deadlines. The teachers were fired a
for me taking the
utilize his prior military service, to
day before they were to submit the
steps to address the
tackle the challenging assignment.
application. The board then barred
mismanagement and
But on January 9, just seven months
them from finishing the grant as
acts that appear to be
into the $265,000-a-year job – and
volunteers.
criminal in nature.
after discovering and reporting to
What I discovered
authorities what he said was illegal
• The high school principal falsified
in the Hempstead
and unethical activity rampant in the
in school records the number of
School District is an
district – Waronker was suspended
weapons brought into school from
abomination and a
with pay, and his team of experts fired.
over 50 down to only 2.
plague on those who are
The school board said it commenced
an investigation into Waronker’s
• He uncovered theft of district
impacted the most, the
conduct as superintendent.
property by a teacher, which led to
children.”
an arrest.
Waronker quickly filed a lawsuit
According to the district’s
against the Hempstead School
• He did a thorough review of the
response in Waronker’s
District, three of its board members,
district facilities and found: vermin
lawsuit, his suspension
and the district clerk. His lawyer,
infestation, mold, 1,600 students
is predicated on
Hempstead-based civil rights
in crumbling portable classrooms,
i nv e s t i g a t ion s
attorney Frederick Brewington, said
leaking roofs, graffiti, and old
into seven
in an interview that nothing the
boilers.
areas: its former
school board did in regard to his
contract with the
client has “made any educational
• He cited examples that show the
New American
sense or had a rhyme of rationality.”
district is guilty of “educational
Initiative, a nonprofit that
malpractice.”
Waronker founded before
“My client came in late last summer,
becoming superintendent (which
prepared to spend four years and
“He was asked to bring his team in
was noted in his contract); alleged
planned to change the environment
and he did,” Brewington says. “The
failure by Waronker to submit
… to dismantle the dysfunctional
team reported back that the district
a Community School Grant on
culture” (in Hempstead schools),
was a ‘cesspool’ and they needed
time; implement maintenance
Brewington says. “What he
to clean it up. Then, the people in
and repair plans to address boilers
uncovered was illegality, theft and
fraud. And when he told the board
to get rid of certain employees, they
suspended him.”
In a declaration given as part of his
federal lawsuit, Waronker said:
• He analyzed the transcripts of 872
high school students and only 214 or
25 percent had the requisite credits
to graduate on time. Nearly 300
hadn’t attended school anywhere
and pipes; implement a Violence
Suppression and Security Plan for
middle and high schools; report
to the board the circumstances
involving the termination of
the high school principal
and the disenrollment
by Waronker of
approximately 300
high school students.
Waronker disputed all
accusations.
He asked the court to
return him to his post
and on Feb. 2, 2018, a
federal judge rejected
the request. On March
26, the Hempstead school
board extended Waronker’s
administrative leave period
until June 1.
Hempstead school officials
did not respond to requests
for comment, and it’s
unclear whether the district
ever received the $5.4
million community schools
grant.
Asked if he thought it was
possible for the school
district to get on the
right track, Brewington
Suspended Hempstead
School Superindendent
Shimon Waronker.
remains optimistic.
“Nothing is impossible,” he says.
“But they can’t expect progress
when they’re not making any
changes. They need to stop dealing
with favoritism and politics and
start dealing with reality.”
The Hempstead School Board is defending itself in a lawsuit filed by its former superintendent (Photo by Bob Giglione)