Board of Education

The former deputy superintendent of Riverhead schools has been administratively reassigned while the district's special legal counsel conducts an investigation into an an allegation about him, the school board president confirmed in a letter today.

A proposal for the Riverhead Charter School to undergo the largest expansion in its history garnered both large praise and sharp opposition during a public hearing at the Board of Education meeting on Tuesday. “We are looking to build our pipeline of students organically from the ground up, so we would like for children who start in kindergarten with us to finish in 12th grade with us,” said Charter School Superintendent Ray Ankrum.

A lot of unanswered questions remain about the change in title and responsibilities of former Deputy Superintendent Sam Schneider, as district officials side-stepped inquiries about Schneider's appointment with tenure Tuesday night to the assistant superintendent position and other changes involving the business function in the district.

The deputy superintendent position at the Riverhead Central School District is set to be abolished if the board of education approves a resolution on its agenda tomorrow night.

School bus drivers are a hot commodity. There's a nationwide shortage and the Riverhead school district has been struggling to recruit enough drivers to handle its transportation needs, Deputy Superintendent Sam Schneider told the Board of Education Tuesday night.

School board member Chris Dorr asked board members to write a letter of support for two Nassau County school districts suing to overturn the state's mask mandate in schools. Former schol board candidate Monique Parsons, on behalf of a new group called Save Our Schools-Riverhead, demanded the district become a plaintiff in the suit.

Kenneth Coard, Riverhead's first dean of students, is an East End native. He grew up on the Shinnecock Reservation in Southampton and has previously taught and coached in Riverhead.

Some Riverhead Central School District residents continue to speak out against mask mandates, despite an indoor mask mandate being adopted by the Board of Education and mandated by Governor Kathy Hochul. 

The reopening plan follows the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics for universal masking indoors and social distancing requirements.

A split board voted 4-3 Tuesday night to approve a school reopening plan recommended by the superintendent of schools that requires students, teachers and staff to wear masks when they return to school in September,