Southampton School District Denies Press's Appeal Of Decision Not To Release Findings Of Investigation

The Southampton School District has denied an appeal by The Press challenging the district’s decision not to disclose the findings of an investigation into former Superintendent Dr. Scott Farina.In a letter dated Friday to Press Executive Editor Joseph P. Shaw, Interim Superintendent of Schools Dr. Nicholas Dyno denied The Press’s appeal of the decision not to disclose a report by a Garden City-based legal firm, Jaspan Schlesinger LLP, that details the findings of an investigation of Dr. Farina. Dr. Dyno wrote that such disclosure “would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy,” the same reason given for the initial denial.Following Dr. Farina’s resignation on April 15, for which he will receive a nearly $300,000 payout, The Press filed a Freedom of Information Law request with the district on April 18 that requested both the findings of the investigation into unspecified allegations made against the former superintendent and any other relevant written materials. The district denied the request the next day.The Press submitted an appeal on April 28 to Dr. Dyno, the district’s FOIL appeals officer, which included a letter and documents to support The Press’s argument that public interest outweighs the district’s need to protect Dr. Farina’s privacy.“The taxpayers of the Southampton School District paid Dr. Farina’s salary, paid for the investigation into the allegations against him, and paid the nearly $300,000 settlement upon his resignation from the district, which came so closely after the investigators’ findings were given to the School Board that they clearly were an element in his decision,” Mr. Shaw wrote.Citing the legislative declaration that is part of the state’s Freedom of Information Law, he added, “Therefore, we believe strongly that the ‘people’s right to know the process of governmental decision-making and to review the documents and statistics leading to determinations is basic to our society. Access to such information should not be thwarted by shrouding it with the cloak of secrecy or confidentiality.’”Mr. Shaw said on Friday that, moving forward, The Press is now considering its options, which could include a lawsuit against the district seeking the information.Robert Freeman, executive director of the State Committee on Open Government, has said that the courts have ruled that FOIL allows public entities to withhold information, but doesn’t mandate that they do so—so it is a choice made by the School Board, despite the district’s argument that the information is not subject to disclosure.“When access is governed by the [Freedom of Information Law], that law is permissive—it authorizes an agency to deny access. But ordinarily it doesn’t require that a government agency withhold it,” Mr. Freeman said recently. “In this instance, I know of no law that would prohibit disclosure … unless that document contains information about a student.”