Smithtown school district probes board members' accusations, finds no wrongdoing

A newly released report commissioned by Smithtown Central School District's Board of Education into dueling accusations of abusive behavior and defamation by its members found no wrongdoing but recommended nine changes to board operations, including periodic review of expectations for respectful discussion and a suggestion for a board retreat. 

The 183-page investigation by Ashley Pope, a partner in the Farmingdale law firm Guercio & Guercio, depicted the seven board trustees as factionalized, riven by infighting and suspicious of each other's motives. 

Board president Matthew Gribbin, responding to a request for comment made through a district spokeswoman, said in an email the board had "considered the recommendations within this report and has made progress on several of the suggested recommendations. It is my hope that the release of this report will allow us to continue to move forward in a more constructive manner."

Trustees did not respond to emailed requests for comment. A district spokeswoman said the investigation cost was not available Wednesday.

The confidential report was finished in April but not released until this week after Newsday and another news outlet made Freedom of Information Law requests. 

It details the fallout after a failed November 2021 resolution to appoint an interim administrator for COVID reporting. Weeks later, trustee Stacy Murphy requested an investigation of "abusive" behavior by Gribbin and another trustee, Michael Catalanotto, over her vote; they requested an investigation over allegedly defamatory remarks she made about them at a public meeting.

Incumbents including Gribbin had supported the appointment. Three newcomers, including Murphy, elected on a slate last year amid conservative opposition from some in the Smithtown community to remote schooling and mask requirements, had opposed it. 

Murphy told the investigator that Gribbin and Catalanotto wrote "abusive" text messages intended to control votes and discussion. She described their behavior to her generally as "demeaning," said they targeted her because she was a woman and said they screamed at trustees during a board retreat. The text messages, as well as some other communications between board members reviewed in the investigation, were redacted in the report.

Trustee Karen Wontrobski-Ricciardi, a Murphy ally, made similar accusations about sexism but, when asked by the investigator, could not recall specific statements. Gribbin and Catalanotto didn’t acknowledge or discuss matters with them and didn’t treat them equally, she said.

Gribbin told the investigator he did not use the group text to sway Murphy's vote or bully her but out of frustration because she had not raised her concerns about the appointment with district administrators before the meeting, which he said was standard courtesy. 

Gribbin and Catalanotto also asked for an investigation, saying Murphy falsely accused them of illegal behavior when she warned them at the end of a December 2021 public meeting not to "ever send me threatening text messages again." 

Catalanotto told the investigator the accusations were shared on social media in an attempt to flip the board to the newcomers' control in a school board election last spring. The board did not flip. 

The investigator found Gribbin and Catalanotto's messages did not constitute "threatening or abusive behavior."

Nor did she find that Murphy had defamed them. Murphy's remarks at the end of the December meeting were a "credible reflection of her opinion, not an accusation of a crime," the investigator wrote.

Board tensions reflected communitywide divisions over the district's COVID policies and diversity, equity and inclusion issues. Board members' public interaction was frosty and divided votes were not uncommon. Meetings were adjourned because audience members did not comply with district policies, refusing to wear masks in the meeting room or screaming during the public portion of meetings.