Ossining Board of Education To Hold Emergency Session

OSSINING, NY — As the furor continues over the Ossining Board of Education's decision to investigate Trustee Aaron Spring over accusations related to racism during his student years at Ossining High School, the school board has called an emergency meeting for Monday night.

The board is under fire for an announcement June 25, when the trustees said they had just received several complaints from community members and former students about Spring. The trustees announced an outside legal investigation to determine whether there had been any violation of board policies, ethics, and/or law.

Amid the heated discussion on social media, school board member Graig Galef said on Facebook that while he thought the board should investigate accusations brought to it he did not think Spring should have been named in the announcement.

Public pressure forced the resignation in early June of a Brewster school trustee after Facebook posts in which she said the death of George Floyd May 25 after a police officer knelt on his neck for nine minutes was a hoax, and said people who blocked I-84 while protesting in Connecticut over Floyd's death should be "hosed." Not everyone agreed with the outcry. Commenters on Southeast-Brewster Patch's Facebook page insisted that Berardi's posts weren't racist and argued that she was exercising her freedom of speech, and that people who didn't like her should vote against her during the election process.

The Ossining school trustees are:

Lisa Rudley, Board President
Graig Galef, Board Vice President
Melissa M. Banta
Katherin Crossling
Diana E. Lemon
Frank Schnecker
Aaron Spring

District officials said only that the Monday emergency session was to discuss a personnel matter. The board has its annual reorganization meeting scheduled for Wednesday.