Brewster Trustees On BHS Administrator's Abrupt Departure

UPDATE: The Brewster Board of Education issued a statement Friday afternoon about the abrupt departure of an assistant principal at the high school. While they said Wednesday they were accepting Kieran Slack's retirement, the new statement also refers to his "separation from employment."

The trustees said Stack’s departure is not connected to any issue regarding the safety or welfare of children. Nor does it have to do with the the arrest last week of the school's marching band advisor and ROTC instructor, Christopher Vlangas, for an affair with a student.

They also said that while Stack’s agreement to retire takes effect immediately, his actual retirement date will be June 30, 2018.

That means Stack will be using up his sick leave from now until Jan. 1. "The administrator's contract allows retired administrators to cash in sick leave upon retirement. By requiring an administrator to use his or her sick leave accumulated over his/her career, this reduces the payout that the District would be required to make upon the administrator’s retirement," the statement said.

Then, from Jan. 1 till June 30, he will be on paid leave. That is a result of negotiations regarding the terms of his separation from employment. "It was determined by the Board that the terms of the separation agreement served the District’s best interests," the trustees said.

The trustees also discussed one of the questions raised at their Thursday night board meeting. "...the issue of due process rights afforded to tenured employees was raised, but not explained in detail. Tenured employees possess due process rights under New York State law, and those rights include: the right to a hearing before an independent hearing officer if charges are brought with the average hearing lasting six months, exclusive of any appeal; and the right to be paid continuously during any investigation or prior to a decision being made by a hearing officer if the investigation results in charges (unless the employee pleads guilty to or has been convicted of a felony for a drug related offense or child abuse)."

BREWSTER, NY — District officials announced Wednesday that Brewster High School Assistant Principal Kieran Slack has retired. Not will be retiring, but has retired, effective immediately, not returning to the school.

The Board of Education held a special meeting Thursday to accept his retirement. The trustees want to move forward with a search for his replacement, and didn't want to wait until the next scheduled meeting Nov. 14 to start advertising for his replacement, according to a letter to parents from Superintendent Valerie Henning-Piedmonte.

Harvey Schnall will serve as interim assistant principal, she said.

She said said Slack's departure had nothing to do with the arrest last week of the school's marching band advisor and ROTC instructor, Christopher Vlangas, for an affair with a student.

The audience at the Thursday night board meeting wasn't willing to move so fast. According to HamletHub, they had a lot of questions, some of which were answered.

The trustees said Slack would get his salary and benefits till the end of the year because that was part of a settlement between him and the district. They said he gets to retire under the state's pension system because he's over 55 and has the requisite years of service.

But they would not disclose other terms of the settlement or the reason for it, or the reason for Slack's precipitous departure.

SEE: BHS ROTC Instructor Accused of Student Affair Moved To NY Jail