Board approves leave of absence for Riverhead Schools Superintendent Augustine Tornatore

Riverhead school officials on Thursday approved a leave of absence for Superintendent Augustine Tornatore, although it gave no reason for the administrator's sudden departure during a tumultuous year for the East End school district.

The Riverhead Central School District Board of Education appointed William Galati, the district’s executive director of secondary education, grants and student outcomes, as interim superintendent. Galtai’s tenure began Friday, according to a second resolution also approved Thursday.

Tornatore's leave of absence is through Oct. 23, according to school documents.

Another school official, Assistant Superintendent Lori Koerner, was reassigned this week pending an investigation, according to a statement provided to Newsday by Board of Education President Colin Palmer. She has been working from home, he said. 

A spokeswoman for the Riverhead Central School District said the district could not discuss why Koerner was reassigned, saying it was a personnel issue. 

Tornatore requested the leave of absence, school officials said in a letter distributed on Thursday to the community, and will use vacation and personal time during the weeks he will not be working. 

“District staff have been informed of this interim change of the superintendent of schools,” officials said in a letter to the community. “This development will have no impact on the education of our students or the District’s many programs and services provided in support of our students’ education.”

Tornatore's leave comes at a time when school officials are trying to deal with a number of high-profile incidents in the district in recent months. 

The Board of Education is scheduled to meet Tuesday evening at Riverhead High School, and Tornatore’s abrupt departure — and the recent events involving Riverhead schools and students — are likely to be topics. 

Swastikas were found drawn on two desks in a Riverhead High classroom, Tornatore said in a letter sent to the school community last month. The superintendent said in the letter that the district was investigating the matter and that students known to sit at those desks were interviewed by the principal. The high school also sought resources and support from the Holocaust Memorial  & Tolerance Center, school officials said.

Also last month, Tornatore told the Board of Education that two students had been disciplined for using racial slurs against Black children at a Sept. 9 Riverhead High football game against Bay Shore. Tornatore later said in a letter to the school community that he could not publicly share disciplinary action due to student privacy laws.

Former Board of Education Vice President Laurie Downs, meanwhile, resigned in March after saying that she was fearful of the district "becoming a Brentwood '' because of Latino students and gang violence — remarks critics said stigmatized groups of people and perpetuated harmful stereotypes. Downs apologized for the comments.