Lindenhurst schools to pay nearly $300,000 to ex-superintendent Anthony Davidson
Former Lindenhurst School Superintendent Anthony Davidson, pictured at a school board meeting in April. Credit: Newsday/Thomas A. Ferrara
The Lindenhurst school district will pay nearly $300,000 to outgoing superintendent Anthony Davidson, who resigned abruptly last month after a year on the job, records obtained by Newsday showed.
Lindenhurst Board of Education members accepted his resignation at a July 17 meeting and appointed Deputy Superintendent Vincent Caravana as interim superintendent.
According to documents obtained by Newsday, Davidson will receive $279,750 through January 2024 through the following payments: $100,000 in the first two weeks of September, $130,000 in the first two weeks of January and $49,750 payable to a 403b account in the first two weeks of September.
District officials declined to comment. No reason for his departure was given in the documents.
“The parties, through their attorneys, will jointly develop a neutral news release to be issued in the immediate aftermath of acceptance of your resignation on July 17,” read the July 10 agreement letter between Davidson and board president Donna Hochman, obtained by Newsday via a Freedom of Information request.
Davidson could not immediately be reached for comment Friday.
District officials alerted the community on July 18 that Davidson was leaving and Caravana was appointed as interim superintendent. The message provided no details about why Davidson was leaving the district.
“While we understand that the community may have questions regarding this update, please understand that as it is a matter of personnel and no further details can be shared publicly as we wish to respect the right to privacy for all involved,“ read the notice, signed by Hochman.
Davidson was appointed Lindenhurst’s schools chief on July 1, 2022, replacing Daniel Giordano, who retired after working 24 years in the system.
His contract — signed March 31, 2022, by Davidson and Hochman — showed that he was hired to start in the district on July 1, 2022, and “terminate on June 30, 2025, unless further extended or earlier terminated.” His first-year base salary was $250,000, according to the contract.
Davidson formerly served as an English teacher and administrator in the Commack district, and more recently as assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction in Locust Valley.
Davidson's term in Lindenhurst was bumpy at times, starting with a busing glitch at the opening of the school year. In March, a 13-year-old student at Lindenhurst Middle School was stabbed in a school hallway by another student and airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital, where his condition was stabilized.
Documents obtained by Newsday showed Davidson's last day in the district was July 31, although those records also showed his last day of business in the district was July 7.
“Effective at the close of business on July 7, 2023, you shall be on special assignment as detailed by the Board of Education and shall not be on school grounds or engage in any services to the district in the absence of the expressed written consent of the Board of Education,” read the agreement.
Davidson also would receive health insurance benefits through January unless he finds another job first, the documents showed.
