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Friday, May 14, 2021
Vol. 9, No. 20
LIVING 50 PLUS
IHOP RESPONDS TO SANDLER
AG DENIES COUNTY REQUEST FOR OVERSIGHT
PAGES 29-36
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Inquiry faults Butera over sex harassment
HACK THE PLANET
School chief defends himself as parents, students call for ouster BY R O S E W E L D ON An investigation has found that Vincent Butera, the Manhasset school superintendent, violated the district’s rules on sexual harassment after a teacher complained about his conduct. Butera acknowledged the finding by an independent counsel last week while saying he was disheartened that the complainant had construed his actions as troublesome. The school board, which had not disclosed that an investigation of Butera was underway, said it was following the independent counsel’s recommendations, without specifying what they were. Some parents, however, called for Butera to resign, and about 200 seniors at Manhasset Secondary School walked out in protest last Friday. The students chanted “Hey hey, ho ho, Vincent Butera has to go,” and many, including some teachers, wore black in protest.
According to NBC News, an unnamed former teacher at Shelter Rock Elementary School complained last fall that the three-year superintendent had made her feel uncomfortable when he hugged her twice in school, and visited her classroom often to “just stand in the back and stare,” describing both as “creepy.” Butera said at the May 6 Board of Education meeting that it had been “extremely disheartening to learn that my actions were construed by even one person as anything other than completely professional.” He then discussed the incidents in detail from his point of view. “At a retirement party with over 100 people in attendance, and a DJ playing music loudly, I came in close proximity to the complainant and had a work-related conversation,” Butera said. “After a courageous fight, a teacher had tragically passed away. Continued on Page 63
PHOTO COURTESY OF MANHASSET PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Students at Shelter Rock Elementary School participated in the Monster Island Hackathon last week.
Manhasset area voters go to the polls Tuesday BY R O S E WELDON AND ROBERT PELAEZ
unseat longtime incumbents in school board elections on Tuesday. MANHASSET While former school board Two of the three school districts serving the Manhasset area Vice President Ann Marie Curd will see challengers running to will not be seeking re-election,
incumbent Trustee Carlo Prinzo will, with challengers Frank Bua, Jill Pullano and Erin Royce also competing for two seats on the board. Prinzo, a Manhasset resident Continued on Page 61
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