Wyandanch school board directs special counsel to probe grading at Milton L. Olive Middle School
Interim Superintendent Arlise Carson and school board president Jarod Morris at the Wyandanch school board meeting last week. Credit: Rick Kopstein
The Wyandanch school board has appointed special counsel to investigate allegations regarding grading at Milton L. Olive Middle School, just a week after the district “reassigned” the school’s two top administrators.
The board approved the resolution to conduct an independent investigation at its regularly scheduled meeting Wednesday night. The special counsel appointed is Bond, Schoeneck & King.
“We have no further comment at this time,” school board president Jarod Morris said.
Shannon Burton, principal at the middle school, and Kimberly Clinton, assistant principal, were reassigned last week. The district declined to say where the two had been reassigned.
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, according to a letter interim Superintendent Arlise Carson sent to parents last week.
Carson released a statement Thursday that read in part: "At this time, we are unable to provide any additional information. We will provide additional information as soon as possible."
The two administrators had been at the school for only one academic year.
The 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.
Dandan Zou covers education for Newsday. Previously, she worked for a community newspaper in Maryland and a personal finance magazine in Washington, D.C.
