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Board chair summarizes investigator’s findings; board to prioritize HR and protocol changes after resignation
Summary
Board members discussed the resignation of a former member and summarized an investigator’s review that identified procedural gaps in how a 2023 complaint was handled; the board said it will consider HR improvements and options to fill the vacant seat ahead of the May vote.
At the Jan. 13 meeting, the Saugerties Central School District board outlined steps it says are needed after an investigator found shortcomings in how an anonymous complaint about the girls’ wrestling coach was handled in 2023.
The chair summarized the investigator Miss Gaydos’s work, saying the probe (which interviewed roughly 40 people) "found there was no clear record of how the complaint actually came into the office" and that an official investigation file had not been created. The chair said other parties (wrestlers, parents) were not interviewed at the time and that follow-up did not occur when new information later surfaced.
"These are specifically the findings of that investigator," the chair said, stressing the account was not the board’s opinion but the investigator’s findings. The chair said the problem centers on HR processes and underscored the need for standardized investigation protocols and documentation going forward.
Board members also addressed the vacancy left by the resignation of Mr. Toman, effective Dec. 31. The chair reviewed two options: appoint a temporary replacement who would serve until the May vote, or leave the seat vacant until that election. The chair explained how the May election would work if the board left the seat open: the top vote-getter in May would assume the vacant seat immediately upon certification.
The chair told the public that personnel names and details would not be released at the board level because of legal and personnel confidentiality constraints and emphasized the board’s focus on implementing recommended procedural fixes. The board indicated those fixes — including improved HR staffing and standard forms for complaints and investigations — will be part of upcoming budget and operational discussions.
Routine personnel and business items were approved by voice vote later in the meeting; the board then amended the agenda to add first-reads of two policies and moved into executive session for legal and personnel matters.
The board did not release or vote on personnel disciplinary outcomes during the public session.
