A New York high school principal is resigning in disgrace in the wake of a damning report that found he covered for four teenage students who snapped lewd photos of special needs students using the Fox Lane High School (FLHS) bathroom in Bedford and shared them with their friends.
Principal Brett Miller is stepping down from his position but is still employed at the school district after an investigation found that, with the help of Bedford administrators, he chose to keep the confessions of two of the four male students involved from the police who were investigating the incident, according to a report from Kroll, a third-party investigation firm based in New York City.
The other two boys who were involved in the invasion of the special education students’ privacy only came to light after investigators reviewed footage, the New York Post reports.
According to Kroll, the school’s special education staff “promptly took steps after receiving the report of misconduct on March 11, 2022 to strengthen the protocols around the supervision of special education students in the boys bathroom,” to insure this never happens again. But the FLHS administration’s investigation into finding the culprits “was deficient in multiple areas, as was the administration’s communication of its findings to the Superintendent, the Board, the Police Department, and the FLHS special education community.”
When asked by board members weeks later about the disturbing incident, Miller denied he was quickly able to get confessions out of two of the miscreants, saying instead that “nobody cracked.”
“The administrative team was more focused on covering themselves through lies, misdirection and avoidance than they were on the well-being of the students they claim to always put first,” Karen Close, the mother of one of the victimized kids, told CBS News.
(Video: YouTube)
Newly-appointed Bedford Superintendent Robert Glass called the report a “painful moment” for the FLHS community.
“The release of this report has opened a wound that had not fully healed following an egregious event,” he said.
Board member Gilian Goldman-Klein understands the community’s anger.
“I want to personally acknowledge that what occurred here is unacceptable in my view and people have a right to be outraged,” she said, adding, “I am.”
Parents of the special ed victims were not informed by the school district about the confessions to the incident, according to the report.
“It does not appear that the parents of SE Student #1 or SE Student #2 — the two potential victims who had been identified — were told two students had confessed on March 21st to taking photos of special education students in the boys bathroom,” Kroll writes. “Indeed, Kroll’s email review confirms the potential victims’ parents were told the administration had no evidence of the alleged misconduct occurring.”
According to parents, the district took a full week to tell them of the event — a wrong that will be righted by a new protocol requiring they be notified within a day.
But Jennifer Close, Karen’s daughter and the sister of one of the victims, says the district needs to deal with a student culture that finds such a vile thing as the humiliation of special needs students funny.
“There is an obvious problem with the students in this school district and as the leaders of this school district you need to find a way to break through to these students in a beneficial way,” she said.
There were no arrests made and many are upset that there won’t be more accountability.
According to Patch:
And, in fact, many of those faulted in the report will not be held to account and have since left the school district. Though Miller has been relieved of his duties at the school, his resignation won’t take effect until June 2023, or earlier if he gets another job, according to the superintendent.
This, despite the report’s scathing evaluation of his misrepresentations of the disturbing incidents.
As for the four bullies responsible for the rotten deed, they received a five-day suspension.
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
Melissa Fine is the former executive editor of Casino Player, Strictly Slots, and Poker
Digest magazines. She is a UCLA graduate, news junkie, and dedicated Stargate SG-
1 fan. Melissa currently lives with her dog and two cats in a tiny town in the Sierra
Nevada foothills.
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