UPDATE: Southampton BOE Appoints Interim Director Of Pupil Personnel Services; Won't Comment On Status Of Administrator Who Held Position

The Southampton School Board on Tuesday night appointed an interim director of pupil personnel services, but so far has declined to comment on the status of the administrator who held the position, or why an interim was appointed in the first place.

But the board also voted to hire the Garden City-based firm Jaspan Schlesinger LLP to provide attorney services to the district, as presented," Interim Superintendent Dr. Nicholas Dyno read from a prepared statement. The firm is the same agency that conducted an investigation into former Superintendent Dr. Scott Farina earlier this year.

The board voted at the special meeting to tap Dr. Harmon Cohen, a former special education administrator in the district who retired several years ago, as the interim director of pupil personnel services. That position is held by Denise Merchant.

Dr. Dyno and School Board President Heather McCallion have declined to comment on Ms. Merchant's status as an administrator in the district, but several sources have confirmed that she is the subject of a probe which the board hired Jaspan Schlesinger to conduct.

According to sources, Ms. Merchant was escorted out of the district administrative building on Friday afternoon, and when a reporter called her direct line on Monday and Tuesday, her assistant, Terri Hall, said both days that she was not in her office.

Ms. Merchant did not return a phone call or text message seeking clarification about her status.

After the five-minute meeting, Ms. McCallion declined to provide any further comment, referring all questions to Syntax Communication Group, a public relations company in Bohemia that works for the district, and Dr. Dyno. "We don't discuss personnel issues for reasons of privacy and respect for our personnel," she said.

Dr. Dyno echoed Ms. McCallion and declined to comment about Ms. Merchant being escorted off school property. He also declined to say whether she is a tenured employee, and what circumstances led to the appointment of an interim director of pupil personnel services.

According to a source, the firm will be looking into allegations a teacher in the district has made against Ms. Merchant, though what those allegations are is still not known. The source said the allegations were presented to the School Board in an executive session last week.

The controversy surrounding Ms. Merchant comes just over a month after the departure of Dr. Farina.

Staff writer Greg Wehner contributed to this story.

According to the Southampton School District website, the School Board at Tuesday night's special meeting will "engage a law firm" and "act on a personnel matter."

The meeting, which is open to the public, will take place at 7:30 p.m. in the library at the intermediate school.

No other information was immediately available.

The special meeting of the Southampton School Board originally scheduled for Monday evening at 7:30 at the intermediate school was rescheduled to Tuesday at 7:30 p.m., according to Amy Pierson, the district's community relations specialist.

Ms. Pierson said Monday afternoon that the board will not go straight into executive session Tuesday night and will instead take action on a few items, although she said she was unable to elaborate, as District Clerk Mary Pontieri left for the day.

Just over a month after the departure of former Superintendent Dr. Scott Farina, another controversy surrounding a second administrator in the Southampton School District may be brewing.

The School Board will hold a special meeting Monday at 7:30 p.m. at the intermediate school to discuss "specific personnel," according to a notice posted on the district website. The notice states that the board will open the meeting and move directly into executive session, although Interim Superintendent Dr. Nicholas Dyno said Monday morning that while an executive session is possible, the meeting will not start off that way.

Dr. Dyno declined to comment any further. School Board President Heather McCallion referred all questions to Dr. Dyno.

Numerous sources say, however, that the board will address allegations made against a current administrator in the district by a staff member, though the nature of those allegations is not yet known.

"