10 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • DECEMBER 2018
HEMPSTEAD
SCHOOL
CRISIS
IN THE NEWS
ANOTHER LAWSUIT
MOUNTING CORRUPTION CLAIMS
BY ALAN KRAWITZ
The Hempstead school district has
“rampant and corrosive corruption,
waste, and gross illegalities,” a terminated
deputy school superintendent
claimed, in the latest federal lawsuit
filed against the troubled district and
members of its school board.
The plaintiff, Varleton McDonald,
says he spoke with the state
Education Department and was also
questioned by the FBI about illegal
practices in the district, according
to court documents filed at Central
Islip federal court on October 10. His
attorney says McDonald’s January 17
firing was in retaliation for exposing
the issues.
“We’re not sure what the district's
contentions are...the district has
only expressed in public statements
that Dr. McDonald’s allegations are
false,” says Mark Goidell, McDonald's
attorney. “So, we still don't know what
the district's position is, but we're
looking forward to flushing that out
as the litigation goes forward.”
Besides the school district, the
suit also names as defendants school
board members David Gates, Randy
Stith and LaMont Johnson. McDonald
is asking for monetary damages
for not only his loss of employment
but also for mental anguish, damage
to his reputation, diminished
employment opportunities, and
humiliation.
Goidell said that despite his client’s
strong background and experience
as an educational leader/reformer,
McDonald has been unable to find
suitable employment since his discharge,
due to the "blemish" on his
record resulting from the Hempstead
school district’s action.
Sources say there are "multiple
pending investigations" related to
the Hempstead school district, which
has long suffered from an array of
problems including gang violence,
cultural and racial tensions among
the district's black and Latino students,
a 37 percent graduation rate,
and illegal hiring practices, among
many other issues.
Some former school board members
say McDonald was terminated
not only because of his exposure of
corruption and waste in the district
but also his close connection to the
embattled former Hempstead School
District Superintendent Dr. Shimon
Waronker, with whom he worked
in New York City, helping to reform
troubled, low-performing schools.
Waronker, who recommended
McDonald to the board, has been
on paid administrative leave since
January 9, pending a hearing related
to the board’s charges of allegedly
breaching his contract.
Some of the gross financial improprieties
McDonald became aware of
that were cited in the suit included
a side catering business being conducted
by the district's head of Food
Services, utilizing the equipment
and facilities of the district. Other
improprieties included instances of
grade-fixing for the purpose of getting
more state aid in addition to an independent
audit that found payroll discrepancies
and unchecked overtime.
Jonathan Scher, an attorney for
the district and board members,
told Newsday that the lawsuit “has
no merit whatsoever,” and that the
complaint’s allegations were “wholly
fictitious and warrant the board
asserting a character claim for
defamation.”
But Gwen Jackson, also a former
Hempstead board member, says
McDonald was good for the district.
Although McDonald had previously
worked with Dr. Waronker in New
York City, he was not selected by
Waronker, she says.
“He Dr. McDonald.…was interviewed
by a committee consisting of
teachers, administrators, principals,
and staff,” she says. “He was selected
by this committee. So, everything
was done above board.”
She adds that McDonald understood
Waronker’s vision for the
district.
“Dr. Waronker also needed to
work with someone that he could
trust, that had his back, because he
was in ‘enemy territory,’” she says.
“From day one, there were people
out to sabotage Dr. Waronker’s every
move… Unfortunately, Mr. McDonald
got caught in the crossfire.”
“His reputation is tarnished,”
she continues. “And for what? Just
because he wanted to help. This has
become a pattern in the district.
Whenever someone tries to do the
right thing, he or she is fired.”
The Hempstead School District is the target of yet another lawsuit.
"Unfortunately, Mr. McDonald got caught
in the crossfire,”
says former Hempstead school board member
Gwen Jackson.