Connetquot board approves settlement that allows use of “T Birds,” ending district’s suit against state

The Connetquot Central School District Board of Education voted to accept a settlement agreement that, as written in the motion on the consent agenda, allows the district to retain the nickname “T Birds” while settling the district's claim in the lawsuit.

The vote came after more than an hour of public comment and trustee discussion about history, community sentiment and legal risk. New York State Senator Alexis White urged the board to keep the Thunderbird identity and said she had introduced state legislation to preserve the name. "I'm here tonight to speak in support of keeping the name of the t birds and maintaining the mascot," White said during the public-comment portion. Suffolk County Legislator Trish Bergen told the board she did not want taxpayer money spent on prolonged litigation: "This litigation is wasting time, money, and energy that should be spent on students, not lawyers."

Board members debated the legal implications on the record. Legal counsel Louis Silverman told the board he and counsel prepared talking points and that, "while a court decision has not addressed whether part 123 violates Title VI, it is our opinion that based on the decisions that there are, that the court would find that part 123 does not violate Title VI." Silverman also said a named former board member appears in the case caption but is not a settling party.

Several trustees expressed continuing concern. Trustee Jacqueline DeLorenzo said she opposed the settlement and raised questions about the district's previous statements to the court regarding whether "T Bird" is derived from Thunderbird imagery: "I am an absolute no for this. I'll gladly say no again when it comes around, but these are my concerns." Other trustees described reviewing emails and surveys from constituents and concluded the community was closely divided; some members urged preserving the nickname to avoid spending additional legal fees.

Board members moved the settlement as part of consent-agenda item 12 and completed a roll-call vote. The board president announced the motion carried. The settlement itself notes the parties negotiated a compromise that, according to counsel, states that "to our knowledge and information, [the name] was never associated with Native American imagery." Counsel further said the district responded to an OCR complaint and submitted a response and data request.

Members of the public asked whether the settlement would prevent further lawsuits; counsel and trustees said it would not guarantee that no other parties (for example, the Native Americans Guardian Association cited by commenters) could file suits challenging the change or the agreement. A commenter at the second public comment period asked: "Does this settlement guarantee that there'll be no further lawsuits pertaining to this?" Counsel and board members responded that future litigation remains possible.

The board did not specify in public discussion detailed dollar amounts tied to the settlement or implementation steps for changing printed materials; several trustees asked to delay any nonessential expense until a legal deadline passes. The superintendent offered general district updates unrelated to the settlement after the vote.

The board approved the settlement motion as presented and moved on to remaining agenda items.