Middle school administrators in Wyandanch reassigned, district says
Milton L. Olive Middle School Principal Shannon Burton, along with Assistant Principal Kimberly Clinton, was reassigned earlier this week, according to the Wyandanch school district. Credit: James Carbone
The Wyandanch school district has “temporarily reassigned” two top administrators at Milton L. Olive Middle School, only a week into the new school year and just a few months after the school's academic rating went from "struggling" to the equivalent of good standing.
Principal Shannon Burton and Assistant Principal Kimberly Clinton were reassigned this week, according to a letter interim Superintendent Arlise Carson sent to parents Wednesday.
The two educators' responsibilities will be handled by the building administration team with oversight from the interim superintendent’s office and the central administration team, the letter said.
Carson did not state the reasons for the reassignments.
Burton and Clinton could not be reached for comment Thursday. They have been at the school for only one academic year.
Burton, a former teacher and administrator in Yonkers and New York City, was appointed principal in July 2022 with an annual salary of $159,570 under a four-year probationary period into 2026. Clinton was hired at an annual salary of $148,771, also under a four-year probationary period.
School board president Jarod Morris declined to comment on the reassignments Wednesday night after a regularly scheduled board meeting. The other six board members either declined to comment or didn't return a request for comment Thursday.
Keshia Clukey, spokesperson for the state Education Department, would neither confirm nor deny that the department is investigating. "The reassignment of administrative staff in and of itself does not constitute grounds for intervention by the state Education Department," she said in a statement.
In the school district, several special meetings were called in July to consider a resolution that would direct special counsel to investigate allegations regarding test administration and scoring of state examinations at Wyandanch High School and Milton L. Olive Middle School and to present a report to the board for review.
The board did not vote on the resolution.
The first special meeting was held July 11 but lacked a quorum because several board members did not attend.
The middle school, which enrolls 620 students in grades six through eight, was elevated in July to good academic standing, nine years after being identified by state authorities as academically "struggling," Newsday previously reported.
Burton told Newsday in March that higher test scores among bilingual students were a factor in the state's decision to boost the school's rating.
Wyandanch is one of only two public school districts of 124 on Long Island that has been assigned a state monitor to help make improvements in budgeting, operations and other areas.
Burton, of Yonkers, received his first temporary license to teach grades 7-12 math in 2000 and a professional one in 2005 that remains in effect, according to a state database. Since 2006, he has had a permanent school district administrator certificate.
Clinton, of Massapequa, has had a childhood education professional certificate and a students with disabilities professional certificate in grades 1-6 since 2009. She received a school building leader initial certificate in 2017 and a professional one in 2022.
Dandan Zou covers education for Newsday. Previously, she worked for a community newspaper in Maryland and a personal finance magazine in Washington, D.C.
