Former East Meadow superintendent sues district, alleges retaliation for defending fired school official
Leon Campo said school district officials responded to his defense of an administrator by falsely accusing him at a school board meeting of mismanagement, and removing his name from a district center, according to the lawsuit. Credit: Howard Simmons
A former East Meadow school superintendent has filed a $35 million lawsuit against the district asserting that officials threatened and retaliated against him for defending an administrator who he said was terminated unfairly due to his race and age.
Leon Campo, 81, said district officials responded to his defense of the administrator by falsely accusing him at a school board meeting of mismanagement and removing his name from a district center, according to the lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn.
"When you do the right thing, the truth should prevail," Campo said in an interview Thursday. "There are those who did not want the truth to prevail. They did everything to stop [me], and they did terrible things to me."
The lawsuit names as defendants the East Meadow district, then-Superintendent Kenneth A. Card Jr., Assistant Superintendent Patrick Pizzo and current and former members of the board of education.
Kenneth Rosner, the current superintendent, said in a statement that the district is aware of the lawsuit filed by Campo. The district had no comment, he added, as it generally does not comment on pending litigation. An attempt to reach Card by phone Friday was unsuccessful.
It is not known if Pizzo has legal representation. He did not respond to several attempts to reach him by phone and email for comment.
Campo served in several administrative posts in East Meadow from 1974 to his retirement in 2008, including assistant business administrator, assistant superintendent for finance and administration, and superintendent, the lawsuit said. He returned to the district to serve stints as superintendent in 2008 and from 2015 to 2017, he said.
In the lawsuit, Campo said he had already left the district when officials fired administrator Arthur Williams in 2019. Williams, 66, is Black and had served as supervisor for facilities and transportation for the district. He was told he was fired for "incompetence," the lawsuit said.
In the Campo lawsuit, he alleged that during his time as interim superintendent between 2015 and 2017, Pizzo used racist and demeaning language among his criticisms of Williams. After Williams was terminated, Williams filed a complaint with the state Division of Human Rights asserting the district discriminated against him due to his race and age. Campo submitted to the commission his own recollections of Pizzo’s discriminatory comments regarding Williams, according to the lawsuit.
Pizzo then threatened to damage Campo’s reputation and remove his name from the district’s Leon J. Campo Salisbury Center unless he recanted those statements, but Campo refused, the lawsuit said.
During an East Meadow school board meeting on May 24, 2023, Pizzo publicly accused Campo of improperly “closing out” multimillion-dollar building projects and referred to his “gross incompetence,” the lawsuit said. The school board voted to remove Campo’s name from the center. The board members were aware that Campo had spoken out against the treatment of Williams, the lawsuit said.
Campo said the assertions against him were false.
“All of the amazing work that Mr. Campo had done and continues to do for [the] district seemingly evaporated due to the retaliatory animus and vengeance of defendant Pizzo, which was agreed to and accepted by defendant district and board,” the lawsuit said.
Pizzo is slated to become superintendent of the Robbinsville school district in New Jersey in January, according to a news release from that district.
Frederick K. Brewington, Campo's attorney, said: “This is an important case because it is a second level of abuse from the East Meadow district, in trying to silence someone speaking out for justice for someone else.”
Campo's lawsuit pointed to his work for the community, including creation of an annual Leon J. Campo Scholarship and being a member of the East Meadow Jail Advisory Committee, Nassau University Medical Center Citizens' Advisory Committee, the Community Supportive Committee for the 1st and 3rd Precincts, the Council of East Meadow of Community Organizations, and the East Meadow Chamber of Commerce.
The state Division of Human Rights found probable cause to support Williams' allegations, but the case was withdrawn when Williams filed his own $35 million lawsuit in June 2021, Brewington said. That lawsuit is ongoing, he said.
A former East Meadow school superintendent has filed a $35 million lawsuit against the district asserting that officials threatened and retaliated against him for defending an administrator who he said was terminated unfairly due to his race and age.
Leon Campo, 81, said district officials responded to his defense of the administrator by falsely accusing him at a school board meeting of mismanagement and removing his name from a district center, according to the lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn.
"When you do the right thing, the truth should prevail," Campo said in an interview Thursday. "There are those who did not want the truth to prevail. They did everything to stop [me], and they did terrible things to me."
The lawsuit names as defendants the East Meadow district, then-Superintendent Kenneth A. Card Jr., Assistant Superintendent Patrick Pizzo and current and former members of the board of education.
WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND
- A former East Meadow school superintendent has filed a $35 million lawsuit against the district.
- The ex-superintendent, Leon Campo, asserted that officials threatened and retaliated against him for defending an administrator who he said was unfairly terminated due to his race and age.
- The school district had no comment. Attempts to reach other defendants in the suit were unsuccessful.
Kenneth Rosner, the current superintendent, said in a statement that the district is aware of the lawsuit filed by Campo. The district had no comment, he added, as it generally does not comment on pending litigation. An attempt to reach Card by phone Friday was unsuccessful.
It is not known if Pizzo has legal representation. He did not respond to several attempts to reach him by phone and email for comment.
Campo served in several administrative posts in East Meadow from 1974 to his retirement in 2008, including assistant business administrator, assistant superintendent for finance and administration, and superintendent, the lawsuit said. He returned to the district to serve stints as superintendent in 2008 and from 2015 to 2017, he said.
Administrator fired in 2019
In the lawsuit, Campo said he had already left the district when officials fired administrator Arthur Williams in 2019. Williams, 66, is Black and had served as supervisor for facilities and transportation for the district. He was told he was fired for "incompetence," the lawsuit said.
In the Campo lawsuit, he alleged that during his time as interim superintendent between 2015 and 2017, Pizzo used racist and demeaning language among his criticisms of Williams. After Williams was terminated, Williams filed a complaint with the state Division of Human Rights asserting the district discriminated against him due to his race and age. Campo submitted to the commission his own recollections of Pizzo’s discriminatory comments regarding Williams, according to the lawsuit.
Pizzo then threatened to damage Campo’s reputation and remove his name from the district’s Leon J. Campo Salisbury Center unless he recanted those statements, but Campo refused, the lawsuit said.
Discord at meeting cited
During an East Meadow school board meeting on May 24, 2023, Pizzo publicly accused Campo of improperly “closing out” multimillion-dollar building projects and referred to his “gross incompetence,” the lawsuit said. The school board voted to remove Campo’s name from the center. The board members were aware that Campo had spoken out against the treatment of Williams, the lawsuit said.
Campo said the assertions against him were false.
“All of the amazing work that Mr. Campo had done and continues to do for [the] district seemingly evaporated due to the retaliatory animus and vengeance of defendant Pizzo, which was agreed to and accepted by defendant district and board,” the lawsuit said.
Pizzo is slated to become superintendent of the Robbinsville school district in New Jersey in January, according to a news release from that district.
Frederick K. Brewington, Campo's attorney, said: “This is an important case because it is a second level of abuse from the East Meadow district, in trying to silence someone speaking out for justice for someone else.”
Campo's lawsuit pointed to his work for the community, including creation of an annual Leon J. Campo Scholarship and being a member of the East Meadow Jail Advisory Committee, Nassau University Medical Center Citizens' Advisory Committee, the Community Supportive Committee for the 1st and 3rd Precincts, the Council of East Meadow of Community Organizations, and the East Meadow Chamber of Commerce.
The state Division of Human Rights found probable cause to support Williams' allegations, but the case was withdrawn when Williams filed his own $35 million lawsuit in June 2021, Brewington said. That lawsuit is ongoing, he said.
Craig Schneider is a Long Island native and Stony Brook University alumnus. He joined Newsday as a general assignment reporter in January 2018 after 20 years at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
