The Riverhead Central School District will hire a business official to act as assistant superintendent for finance and operations, after longtime district administrator Sam Schneider was demoted and administratively reassigned pending an investigation into unspecified allegations from an employee.
Faith Caglianone, listed on LinkedIn as a business administrator at the Shoreham-Wading River School District, will be paid $100 an hour to do the job on a “as-needed basis” starting Dec. 1 and ending on June 30, 2022, when Schneider’s current year-long contract expires, according to her contract. It is unknown whether the district will renew its contract with Schneider.
The district hired Volz & Vigliotta, a law firm in Nesconset that often represents school districts in litigation, to conduct the investigation into undisclosed allegations against Schneider on Oct. 12. That same day, the district abolished Schneider’s position of deputy superintendent in a 6-1 vote, and appointed Schneider to the assistant superintendent position with tenure, in accordance with his employment contract, which expires June 30.
The district appointed Herb Chessler as an acting business official at $125 an hour on Oct. 12. School board President Laurie Downs said Chessler was acting in Schneider’s place because he was reassigned and was not working full-time. Superintendent Augustine Tornatore said Chessler would also be helping on an as-needed basis to manage an influx of federal funding and to help the district pursue grants. Tornatore confirmed in an email today that Chessler will be separating from the district.
Tornatore has not responded to questions about Schneider’s duties during his administrative reassignment and whether he has been working in the district offices. The district has declined to specify the allegations against Schneider and the employee whose allegation is being investigated has not come forward with a public statement.
In the email today, Tornatore declined to comment on details of Schneider activities during his reassignment, on whether he was put on leave, and on the current investigation into the undisclosed allegations against Schneider.
“This is a personnel matter and I cannot share information at this time,” Tornatore wrote in the email.
Tornatore said he is planning to share information about the action at tonight’s Board of Education meeting. The meeting starts at 7 p.m. and can be attended in person at the Riverhead High School auditorium or through a livestream on the district’s YouTube channel.
Correction: This article has been amended to correct an editing error regarding the expiration date of Sam Schneider’s contract. It ends at the end of the school district’s fiscal year, June 30.
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