Ex-Wyandanch school Principal Shannon Burton pleads guilty to violation weeks after resigning
Shannon Burton in 2023. He was appointed principal at Milton L. Olive Middle School in July 2022 and resigned last month. Credit: James Carbone
A former Wyandanch middle school principal who faced grade-fixing allegations during his brief tenure pleaded guilty to an unrelated violation Tuesday, weeks after resigning from his job, authorities said.
Shannon Burton, 45, of Yonkers, pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct, according to Rachel Best, a spokesperson at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. Disorderly conduct is a violation but not a crime.
Burton was arrested in late July and originally charged with aggravated harassment, a misdemeanor, in connection with a phone call he made to a 32-year-old woman, in which he allegedly threatened to harm her boyfriend, according to the NYPD and the district attorney’s office.
Following that charge, Larry Aronstein, interim superintendent of Wyandanch schools, said he initiated disciplinary proceedings to terminate Burton from his role as principal of the Milton L. Olive Middle School.
Burton, a former teacher and administrator in Yonkers and New York City, was appointed principal at the middle school in July 2022. He earned $183,979 in the 2023-24 school year, according to a Newsday analysis of educators' pay.
Burton resigned Sept. 13, Aronstein said.
John D. Pappalardo, a White Plains-based attorney representing Burton, said the court case was “resolved with a noncriminal disposition and is now closed and sealed.”
“Dr. Burton does not have a criminal record,” Pappalardo said in an emailed statement. “He looks forward to moving forward and getting back to his career in educational leadership.”
Burton did not respond to a request for comment.
As of Wednesday, Burton’s state certificates to work as an administrator and teach math in grades 7-12 are effective.
A state Education Department spokesman said the department does not comment on “individuals’ unique situations.”
Last year, Burton and two other administrators were accused of inflating grades and the three were reassigned to work from home in September 2023.
Aronstein, who began working in Wyandanch July 1, reinstated them. At the time, he cited an outside investigation that did not find evidence they tampered with Regents scores. Other allegations surrounded a credit recovery program.
Michele Darby, an assistant principal at Wyandanch Memorial High School and a former middle school principal in the Amityville district, was appointed acting principal in August.
Dandan Zou covers education for Newsday. Previously, she worked for a community newspaper in Maryland and a personal finance magazine in Washington, D.C.
