Ex-principal says school changed football star's grades
Credit: 2011 Bellport High School yearbook
Kevin O'Connell, former principal at Bellport High School, said he was forced out this year after refusing to pressure a teacher to boost football star Ryan Sloan's grades.
Credit: David L. Pokress. 2006
Ex-principal Kevin O'Connell said district superintendent Joe Cipp Jr. (pictured above), who was the school's football coach for 32 years until retiring from that position in 2011, and other top officials pushed subordinates to raise Sloan's math scores so he would qualify for an athletic scholarship to Syracuse University. School officials said the accusations were baseless.
Credit: George A. Faella, 2010
Ryan Sloan graduated from Bellport High School in June and is a freshman at Syracuse University. In a statement released through Syracuse's athletic department, Sloan said, "I worked hard to get to where I am today. I don't know anything about this situation."
Credit: Joseph D. Sullivan
Bellport High School on Beaver Dam Road. (Dec. 5, 2011)
