Wheatley School students, parents and alumni called for the East Williston school board to reinstate teacher Matthew Haig on Monday, even after the board voted to bring disciplinary charges against him.
“If you don’t reinstate him, you all, collectively and individually, will be responsible for the biggest blemish on this district’s history,” Wheatley graduate Todd Bass said.
Before a raucous crowd of more than 400 people — including Haig’s family, friends and former students — the school board voted to maintain Haig’s suspension with pay pending an investigation and hearing on his alleged violations.
School officials said they are legally prohibited from revealing the charges against the social studies teacher, whose initial suspension caused an outcry in the school district and among hundreds of alumni.
The nearly four dozen people who spoke at Monday’s tense three-hour school board meeting spoke to Haig’s passion, dedication and effectiveness as a teacher, and also hotly criticized the board and district administrators for what they see as a lack of transparency with Haig’s case.
Many also alleged Wheatley principal Sean Feeney targeted Haig and has created an atmosphere of intimidation within the school, shifting away from what Haig’s daughter Bernadette Haig called the “old Wheatley.”
“You’re drinking from a poisoned well, and we’re all suffering from it,” parent Jesse Taub said.
Feeney declined to comment, but some speaking Monday cautioned the crowd against personally attacking administrators and school board members.
The school board voted unanimously to uphold Haig’s suspension after determining there was probable cause for charges in a closed executive session, school board President Mark Kamberg said.
Haig’s case will now go to an administrative hearing conducted by an impartial hearing officer whom the district and Haig will mutually select, school district attorney John P. Sheahan said.
Both Haig and the district can present evidence to advocate their respective sides of the case at the hearing, which is confidential under the law unless Haig requests that it be public, Kamberg said Monday.
The hearing officer will hold a pre-hearing conference, state education law says. Hearing proceedings must end within 60 days after that conference, and the officer has 30 days after that to issue a decision, which the school board is bound to enforce.
The East Williston Teachers Association will provide Haig with an attorney, union President Meryl Fordin said. An online fundraiser for Haig has also raised more than $10,300 for his legal fees.
State education law requires that the board discuss all personnel issues privately to protect teachers’ privacy and due process rights, Kamberg said in a public statement Monday night.
“The Board of Education recognizes your concerns,” Kamberg said. “We know that there will be incredible success stories. However, the district must address all concerns that are brought to our attention.”
Many who spoke at the board meeting avoided using Haig’s name by saying “the teacher in question” but many others used his name despite Kamberg’s and Sheahan’s repeated requests not to do so. Some also named Feeney when speaking critically of him.
Many called on the board to re-enter executive session and vote again after considering the outpouring of support for Haig.
“It’s just very difficult to sit here, listen to how this process unfolded, many people bearing their souls, and feeling as if it was all for naught,” said Robert Vella, a district parent and former Village of East Williston trustee.
Under the education law, a board can only consider present facts when determining probable cause for disciplinary charges, Sheahan said.
“As per board policy, the board continues not to comment on personnel or student matters. However, the Board states its full support for central office and building administrators who create an environment of collegiality, camaraderie, and mutual support for staff and students at the Wheatley School,” Kamberg said in a statement Wednesday. “The board recognizes the hard work of the teachers who selflessly contribute to the district’s success in this regard.”
More than half of Haig’s former students who spoke at the meeting said he profoundly impacted their lives by influencing their career choices, getting them to quit drugs or making sure they came to class.
Wheatley graduate Shawn Swift said Haig personally woke him up and took him to school when health problems led him to miss many classes.
Haig’s unconventional, “in-your-face” teaching style engaged students in the material, 1990 Wheatley graduate Ian Solomon said, and he taught students important lessons outside the classroom, such as self-confidence and critical thinking.
“He wasn’t just up there feeding facts. He actually found a way to connect to students emotionally,” said Solomon, the former U.S. executive director for the World Bank Group who flew from Chicago for Monday’s meeting.
Referring to a copy of the complaint he said he obtained, Bass said the complaint against Haig came from Feeney and called its claims “wholly false.” He presented a stack of what he said were notarized legal affidavits contradicting the complaint.
Haig is the third East Williston teacher to face disciplinary charges since July 2015. The school board’s April 6 meeting minutes show it terminated one teacher and suspended another with pay for 90 days following disciplinary hearings.
His continued suspension comes amidst other legal action against the school district.
Two parents filed a federal lawsuit May 2 alleging the district violated the rights of their unnamed child, a student with a severe disability, under the U.S. Constitution and a federal anti-discrimination law.
Jesse Taub, filed a harassment complaint against Feeney May 18 under the state’s Dignity for All Students Act on behalf of his son Jonathan Taub, one of the founders of a Facebook group supporting Haig.
“The board will address all concerns that are brought to its attention to ensure the educational environment at the Wheatley School remains free from harassment, intimidation and retaliation,” Kamberg said in a statement.
Feeney declined to comment.
