Mineola Schools Superintendent Suspended Following Investigation: 'This Decision Was Not Made Lightly'

MINEOLA, NY — Mineola Schools Superintendent Michael Nagler was suspended on Thursday after an investigation found he violated the district's code of ethics and his employment contract.

Nagler and his son, James, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology student, worked on a new digital learning management system (LMS) that the school implemented at the start of the school year. Nagler had been under investigation since October for this LMS after parents complained to the Board and after they became aware that the program was developed by Quave, a private company founded by Nagler and James.

At the school board meeting on Thursday, parents, students, and community members were in attendance. To explain the findings of the investigation that his law firm Whiteman, Osterman, and Hannah conducted, the Board invited Attorney Nathaniel Nichols to give a presentation.

The Mineola Board of Education provided a letter to parents on Friday, thanking counsel for the time they devoted to this investigation, which included interviewing 16 individuals.

"We are confident at this point that their investigation was thorough, detailed, comprehensive, and independent," the letter stated. "The Board received the results of the investigation for the first time during last night’s presentation, together with the community. We will now take the time to thoroughly review the full report to determine the appropriate next steps."

The letter continued:

"This decision was not made lightly," the letter stated. "We recognize that this news may be unsettling for our school community– our students, families, and staff who depend on stable leadership."

Investigation findings:

Nichols explained that the goal of the investigation was to determine if Nagler violated any policies, rules, or regulations. There were three key points they looked into when determining if Nagler violated the district's code of ethics:

1) If Nagler violated the district's ethics code.

2) If the Board was aware of any actions taken by Nagler.

3) If Nagler violated his employment contract.

It was found that Nagler did violate the ethics code, his employment contract, and that the Board was not aware. He has been suspended with pay until the next school board meeting on Jan. 22, giving the Board time to discuss further.

This Build Your Own Grade Management System was branded as a "competency-based learning" and grading system.

In this video, Nagler said "we're moving into new territory for public education" and that "we really want kids to explore what they're curious about, and I think this is the foundational piece to make that happen."

Timeline and findings as shared by Nichols during Thursday's meeting:

The Board set a goal in 2024 to implement a competency-based learning system. Some of the learning management systems they looked into were considered cost-prohibitive, such as being quoted $100k by Canvas.

In the summer of 2024, Nagler asked his son James if he could simulate a system in which the grade was properly accounted for in an LMS, and he was able to do so. Nagler instructed James to register the website buildyourowngrade.com on Dec. 23, 2024.

In January of 2024, Nagler told the Board that James would create the LMS that would be implemented with the Build Your Own Grade. The Board had previously used volunteers, and they were familiar with James, so they approved the idea that was being proposed to them in terms of allowing him to proceed with the development of test programs. Nagler did not disclose the registration of the website at the time.

Going forward, Nagler showed the Board several versions of the test program during the school year, and the final viewing was in March 2025. The Board allowed Nagler to proceed, as Nichols said, "in the manner that they understood that he was pursuing."

The Board considered factors in this, such as that James would provide tech support, the ability to complete the program, and the understanding of this being an internal voluntary project.

Concerns were raised by the administration in the spring of 2025, including who owns the LMS, James' involvement, and that there was no privacy agreement presented. Nagler was dismissive of the concerns when brought up.

Quave was formed in July of 2025 using a private attorney and at the expense of Nagler without authorization from the Board.

In August 2024, the Board met with Nagler during a retreat to prepare for the upcoming school year. Nagler did not disclose the LLC or website, Nichols said.

Before the LMS went live, it was changed without the district and administration's knowledge. It was given a more polished and clean look, as Nichols described. There were also Quave logos and marketing on the LMS.

"When tech support was raised as an issue, Dr. Nagler stated that only James can touch the LMS," Nichols said.

On September 10, the community learned about Quave and raised concerns with the Board to look into. The next day, the Board discussed it and asked Nagler about the LLC. He responded that it was for a privacy agreement to be in compliance with a law. The Board trusted his response and accepted it.

On October 2, the Board was made aware that Quave's website listed Nagler and James as owners of the website. In a response, the Board had an emergency meeting on Yom Kippur.

Nichols said that it was at this time that Nagler changed the reason for the LLC, stating that it was needed for him to "obtain a write-off on his taxes." At this point in the meeting, the crowd erupted into laughter.

The attorney continued, sharing that Nagler stated another reason for the LLC was to protect the intellectual property of his son.

On October 3, the Board directed Nagler to take down the website and LMS, as it was housed in an external cloud-based server.

Parents and Students' Concerns:

One student, Thomas, asked Nichols, "How did this slip through the cracks so easily?" and how could something like this be avoided again in the future. Another community member presented this question again, prompting the Board to respond.

Trustee Patrick Talty said he has been to more than 200 board meetings on a volunteer basis. He said the Board provides "good faith oversight."

Talty explained that this means Trustees see being on the Board as a service to their communities.

"We show up, we ask questions, and we act in the best interest of our community," Talty began. "You can imagine how I felt when I learned of this. Believe me, I have felt your anger."

He continued, sharing that he never thought for a moment that the "volunteer service" that Nager and his son were performing would be turned into a limited liability company with the intent of monetizing it: "I never asked that question."

The community member responded: "But we have counsel in response to help us with this, and my question was: Where was our counsel? Were they asleep at the wheel?"

Talty answered that it was presented to the Board as James volunteering time, and they weren't given the full extent of information.

The community member ended his question segment by telling Talty and the Board they have the opportunity to turn the school around: "Hopefully you guys do the right thing."

After hearing the many questions from concerned parents, the Board had an executive session and, after reconvening, President of the School Board Cheryl Lampasona read aloud resolution 58, which did not name Nagler, but instead said the resolution "hereby authorizes the suspension with pay of employee number 01655 through the next regularly scheduled board meeting on January 22."

The Board heard comments from the audience after, including Tony DeSantos' remarks: "Tonight's discussion isn't actually about the software Quave or Build Your Own Grade– it's about community reclaiming our voice... This was not just a policy failure– this was a leadership failure... Parents were not asking for special treatment. We were asking for transparency."

The Board shared that Deputy Superintendent Catherine Fishman will oversee all functions related to the day-to-day management of the school district until the Jan. 22 board meeting, where the next steps will be shared.