Connetquot Principal Michael Moran's sudden departure sparks hallway demonstration by students, video shows
A sudden leave of absence for Principal Michael Moran of Connetquot High School, shown on May 2, 2019, was announced on Friday. Credit: James Carbone
A sudden departure of a principal at Connetquot High School in Bohemia led to a student demonstration Friday afternoon, according to video taken within the school’s hallways.
The Connetquot School District sent a note to parents Friday alerting them that “Principal Michael Moran has submitted a request for a leave of absence from his position, effective immediately."
“Since this matter is personal in nature, I ask for the community to respect Mr. Moran’s privacy regarding this news,” read a letter from Superintendent Lynda Adams. The note said Moran would be out for an “undetermined amount of time.”
Director of mathematics Louise Burger will serve as interim principal, according to the letter. It did not address any student actions but said, “While I understand that this news has sparked some rumors within our district, I want to be clear that this shift in personnel status did not have any connection to the emergency search drill that occurred earlier this morning.”
District officials also said in the letter that: “I understand that some have expressed concerns over the two matters being connected, but I assure you that is not accurate. Furthermore, the search did not turn up any items of concern and was being conducted as part of our emergency protocols.”
Video taken in the hallways of the high school showed students holding signs in support of Moran and chanting “Bring Him Back.” They sat in rows in the hallways.
School officials confirmed that some students briefly gathered peacefully in a contained area of the building. The day functioned as normal without further disruption, according to a statement from the district.
Suffolk County police confirmed that officers were called to the school at 11:55 a.m. for a disturbance and left the school less than an hour later. No arrests were made.
A joint statement by Adams and the Board of Education said that, prompted by a call from a concerned parent, the police responded to the building to help ensure that students were peacefully able to return to the classroom, which had already taken place before their arrival.
The statement said the action by the students lasted about 15 minutes and the students “peacefully” returned to their classrooms.
Senior Marissa Freeman said that she strongly supported Moran.
“Mr. Moran got our school through COVID and now the BOE is wrongly blaming him for everything wrong with the school,” she said. “Even though the students haven’t always agreed with everything he did, we respected him and believed he deserved better … I am tired of the chaos, and just want a safe and stable learning space for myself and fellow students."
Last fall, the district issued a directive banning all flags except the American and state flags in classrooms, citing a district policy that said employees should not engage in political activities in school. The district removed all pride flags from high school classrooms.
Since then, LGBTQ supporters have called for the district to reverse its decision and Gov. Kathy Hochul in October ordered an investigation into the matter.
District officials at the time said they acted in response to students' complaints.
Last month, police investigated two incidents of anti-LGBTQ graffiti reported at the high school.
Moran could not immediately be reached Friday.
Parent Jeannette Dreydoppel said: “I think it’s really scary because it is my understanding that Mr. Moran was very supportive of the LGBTQ community.”
In the joint statement from the superintendent and the district, school officials said, “As the district has previously communicated with our community the district is committed to providing a safe, nurturing and educational space that is respectful of all individual personal beliefs regardless of what race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, or political affiliation they possess.
Alison De Pina, a Ronkonkoma mother with two children in the district, said district officials were trying to make Moran a "fall guy."
"We have a wonderful principal who is on this bizarre leave," she said. "And it is devastating to see this and clearly it was not handled correctly."
Joie Tyrrell is a Long Island native and covers education for Newsday, where she has worked since 1998.
