The Mineoa school board announced on Thursday, Feb. 5, that Superintendent Michael Nagler had resigned. The decision by a once highly regarded educator could not have come soon enough.
The school board suspended Nagler a month ago, on Jan. 8, after an investigation found that the superintendent had violated the district’s code of ethics and his employment contract by instituting a widely criticized video-based teaching program for eighth-graders. It turned out that he and his son, a student at MIT, had designed the program and had a financial interest in it.
Whiteman, Osterman & Hanna LLP, a law firm hired by the district to conduct the investigation, found that Nagler disregarded Mineola’s code of ethics due to his investment in Quave LLC, the company responsible for the Build Your Own Grade program, and his failure to provide notice to the board of the company he formed with his son.
His breach of the employment contract was determined due to his failure to keep the board informed of all matters concerning the district’s administration, as well as his failure to provide written notice to the board of any activities relevant to education.
The investigation determined that at times Nagler, a former New York State Superintendent of the Year, misled the board about the program’s and Quave’s timelines. It stated that Nagler created the company to retain the intellectual property for himself and his son and to secure tax write-offs for business expenses. The investigation concluded that the board was not aware of any relevant actions taken by Nagler.
“It never, ever, crossed my mind to ask our superintendent if volunteer service that his son was performing was going to be turned into a limited liability company with the intent of monetizing it,” Trustee Patrick Talty said. “I never thought of that. I never asked that question.”
Nagler, who earned more than $350,000 a year as Mineola’s superintendent, might have gotten away with the violations discovered during the law firm’s investigation, if not for parents’ and students’ unhappiness with a program he called “revolutionary.”
They objected at school board meetings to a program in which primary instruction for the core subjects, social studies, math, science, and English, was based on videos developed by Nagler’s company, with limited input from teachers.
The program was discontinued after parents gathered more than 500 signatures on a petition calling for its discontinuation.
The resignation will not end payments to Nagler.
Richard Zuckerman, an attorney for the district, said Nagler will be paid through July 20 and will receive a total of $511,752.11.” A little over $180,000 of that will be used to pay his remaining salary, with the rest paid through a tax-sheltered annuity in the coming years, presumably as part of a settlement.
For someone who violated the school board’s trust, Nagler’s payout seems like a lot of money.
Still, Nagler has taken a large fall.
Nagler, who began his career teaching social studies in New York City, had established a strong record since joining Mineola in 1999, first as an administrator and later as superintendent. He was named New York State Superintendent of the Year in 2020.
Catherine Fishman, who had been named acting superintendent after Nagler’s suspension, was promoted to an interim superintendent role by the board after announcing Nagler’s resignation.
“I am excited to be able to support stability,” Fishman said.
That’s the least the Mineola school district could get.
We hope the Mineola school district takes extra care in selecting its next superintendent, as should all other Nassau County school districts.
