New York State Education Commissioner John B. King issued a ruling on May 17 denying the three petitions of current and former Clarkstown School Board members Diane Hoeneveld, Joe Malgieri, Robert Carlucci and Lisa Lieberman against former fellow trustees Phillip DeGaetano and Doug Katz. The decision came almost 19 months after the October 24, 2011 filing of applications seeking the removal of Katz and DiGaetano from the board and alleging misconduct.
“The application must be denied,” wrote King at the beginning of his six-page decision on the application filed by Malgieri, Hoeneveld and Carlucci.
He consolidated the petitions filed by Lieberman, Malgieri and Hoeneveld because they presented similar issues of law and fact and denied those also. His decisions were sent to all involved parties on Friday, May 30.
This is a portion of the statement released by Katz and DeGaetano. Their complete statement is provided at the end of the article.
“The Commissioner’s decision(s) establishes, beyond any doubt, that the actions undertaken by Joseph Malgieri, Lisa Lieberman and Robert Carlucci were solely undertaken to harass and intimidate Doug and I in the hopes that we would support the superintendent, resign from the Board, or be defeated in last year’s election. These petitions were filed in bad faith, without one shred of evidence and specifically designed to damage our reputations, our standing in the community and our businesses.”
Carlucci, who is a current board member, said little about the decision but spoke about the commissioner’s delay in issuing it.
“I have no comment,” he said. “My feeling is he could have made a determination on this last year. I think the commissioner was remiss in not making a decision sooner.”
The commissioner noted the application by Malgieri, Hoeneveld and Carlucci alleging misconduct was filed seven month after claimed written and verbal offers had been made in January and March 2011 to buy out then-Superintendent Margaret Keller-Cogan’s contract. King wrote that applications are supposed to be filed within 30 days of an action. Malgieri, Hoeneveld and Carlucci stated they were unaware of a written “buy out” offer until examining legal files on September 26, 2011.
“Absent proof of a such letter which I find no basis to exercise my discretion and excuse the late filing of this application and it is therefore untimely,” the commissioner wrote.
King also stated that “no credible evidence” was presented that Katz and DeGaetano instructed legal counsel to buy out the contract and that he did not have jurisdiction to determine if they had violated the Open Meetings Law. He noted since Katz and DeGaetano completed their terms on June 30, 2012, the move for their removal was a moot point.
King approved their request for certificates of good faith, which prevents shift the responsibility for paying legal fees and expenses from them to the school district. King consolidated and then denied the two applications filed by Lieberman, Malgieri and Hoeneveld. The applicants contended DeGaetano acted and spoke on behalf of the board without its authorization. King stated again that the applications were filed outside the 30-day window.
“Here while petitioners acknowledge their delay in commencing these applications, they advance no explanation therefor. Therefore, they are dismissed as untimely,” he wrote.
King noted the alleged violations of Public Officers Law do not apply to school district officers and therefore he had no jurisdiction. DeGaetano’s request for a certificate of good faith in regard to the two petitions was agreed to. DeGaetano said the fees for the Hopewell Junction law firm of Donoghue, Thomas, Auslander & Drohan LLP total $20,746.93. However, the issues may not be resolved.
“Doug and I have been in contact with counsel regarding all our options,” said DeGaetano.
Statement issued by Doug Katz and Phillip DeGaetano on June 3, 2012.
The Commissioner’s decision(s) establishes, beyond any doubt, that the actions undertaken by Joseph Malgieri, Lisa Lieberman and Robert Carlucci were solely undertaken to harass and intimidate Doug and I in the hopes that we would support the superintendent, resign from the Board, or be defeated in last year’s election. These petitions were filed in bad faith, without one shred of evidence and specifically designed to damage our reputations, our standing in the community and our businesses. These individuals were motivated by hate and self-righteousness, believing that these petitions would allow them to force their opinions concerning the superintendent upon those who did not share them.
As recent news concerning the former superintendent highlights, she is a person that evokes strong feelings among those she interacts with and many of those feelings are negative. Joseph Malgeri, Lisa Lieberman, and Robert Carlucci allowed their misplaced, zealous support for the former superintendent to cloud their judgment and led to take actions that were both morally and legally wrong. They should be ashamed of themselves.
Phillip DeGaetano and Doug Katz
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