Sayville school board revoked $210G payout to departing administrator Peter Branscombe after he reported 'inappropriate' comments, suit alleges

Sayville’s board of education rescinded an agreement to pay a departing administrator nearly $210,000, hours after he had filed a complaint alleging the superintendent had made inappropriate comments about female job applicants, a lawsuit alleges.

Former Assistant Superintendent Peter Branscombe, 48, of Holtsville, called the board’s Aug. 27 action a breach of contract and said it came after he reported Superintendent Marc Ferris for allegedly discussing a candidate’s skirt slit. The alleged incident was the latest in a string of what he described as “inappropriate sexual comments,” according to his lawsuit filed Nov. 26 in Suffolk County Supreme Court and a notice of claim he filed in September.

Branscombe called the district’s rescission retaliation.

A spokesman for the Sayville school district, Ron Edelson of ZE Creative Communications, declined to say why the board revoked Branscombe’s separation agreement. He said in a statement to Newsday that the district's counsel investigated Branscombe’s claims and cleared Ferris of wrongdoing each time.

The alleged comments by Ferris concerned two female applicants for a human resources administrator role. Branscombe alleges Ferris made the comments following interviews that took place in August, after the board approved Branscombe's agreement and before he was set to leave at the end of the month. Branscombe was the assistant superintendent of human resources at the time and interviewed both applicants with Ferris.

On Aug. 26 after interviewing a woman, Ferris allegedly commented on how high her skirt slit was to Branscombe and Daniel Castellano, director of facilities, who also took part in the interview, according to an email Branscombe sent to school board president Thomas Cooley and district counsel Hilary Moreira the next day. Newsday reviewed a copy of the email, which was attached to the lawsuit as an exhibit.

Castellano did not respond to a message seeking comment.

Ferris' alleged comment made Branscombe uncomfortable, he wrote Cooley and Moreira, especially after it came in the wake of another one he said Ferris made earlier in August toward another female applicant for the same position.

“Dr. Ferris commented to me that if he moved her forward in the interview process, people will think it's because of how she looks and that she is ‘my type,’ ” Branscombe wrote.

After thinking about those comments “all night,” Branscombe wrote in his email, “not only did I come to the conclusion that I should report them, I felt I had an obligation to do so.” 

The board “wholly supports” Ferris, said Edelson, the district spokesman. “The Court will find Dr. Branscombe’s claims to be without merit and the Board’s action in rescinding his agreement reasonable, just and appropriate."

Ferris said in a statement that he has spent almost 30 years of his life helping students, families and educators “in the most genuine way possible.”

“Eventually, as this progresses through the court system, the truth will come out and it will show how absurd this is and that the district and I acted with integrity, honesty and appropriateness in all regards, at all times,” he wrote.

Branscombe, who was named the Mount Sinai school district’s deputy superintendent days before Sayville rescinded his separation agreement, declined to comment through his attorney, Tyler Rexhouse. Rexhouse, with the School Administrators Association of New York State in upstate Latham, also declined to comment, citing the pending litigation.

BOARD REVERSES DECISION

When the Sayville board rescinded Branscombe's agreement at a meeting in August, Cooley said that the superintendent and the board “have become aware of facts that were not previously known or provided,” without going into detail, according to a video of the meeting. Reading off a resolution, Cooley said had the board known those facts, they would not have approved the agreement a month prior.

Branscombe declined to comment through his attorney.

Branscombe wants a judge to force the Sayville district to abide by the terms of his separation agreement, signed by Ferris and approved by the board July 23. The agreement, noting Branscombe’s 18 years of service, called for him to resign effective Aug. 30 and the district to compensate him for his unused sick and vacation time, totaling $209,907.

Such a deal was a break from district policy, Edelson said. The district's contract with administrators calls for such a payout only when an employee is retiring after 20 years.

"All that can be said is that a special circumstance contributed to the Board agreeing to grant Dr. Branscombe the privilege prior to serving in the District for 20 years," he said in a statement. He declined to elaborate, citing ongoing litigation.

At the meeting in July when his agreement was approved, video shows Ferris thanked Branscombe for his “impeccable record” and wished him well on his future endeavors, which was followed by a round of applause from board members.

Cooley said Branscombe “left his mark” on Sayville schools. Another board member said Branscombe “righted the ship” with special education and thanked him for his ongoing contributions.

Branscombe thanked Ferris and the board, saying he had “two decades of opportunities” and it was “tough to leave.”

In 2023-24, Ferris’ gross pay was $306,739 and Branscombe $256,965, according to a Newsday analysis of educators’ pay. Ferris has been the superintendent of the 2,600-student district since 2022.