The Herricks School Board held a special meeting to present the investigators report on the incident that occurred on Oct. 25 in the Herricks District.

However, not one person who originally accused the board, the district and the superintendent of misconduct was present at the special meeting. Civil liberties attorney Christopher Murray said, on their behalf, that no statements will be made or no questions answered until the school board requests of the district attorney, that all charges against the youths involved be dropped.

At the outset of the meeting Herricks School Board President Emilia Sutz made the following statement:

"At previous meetings of the board of education, the board committed to initiating an impartial investigation into the circumstances that surround the arrests of 19 individuals on school property on Oct. 25. The board also committed to making the results of that report public promptly upon its receipt."

Sutz continued, "The purpose of tonight's special meeting is for representatives of Beau Dietl & Associates, the investigative firm retained to conduct the investigation to report its findings to the board of education and the public. Present on behalf of Beau Dietl & Associates (BDA) are Mike Ciravolo and Edward Wright. They will each state their role in the investigation and will be available to answer questions directed through the chair at the conclusion of their report. Each board member had an opportunity to ask for clarification and comment prior to this evening."

Mike Ciravolo and Edward Wright gave a brief background of their own experience in the field of investigation and each has heavy experience as former New York City Police Department detectives, each having at least 20 years experience. Further, the other members of their team that worked on the case, Vincent Pepitone and Mike McLoughlin, were also equally as experienced in the investigative process.

They were all under the direction of BDA CEO John Timoney, who at the beginning of the investigation contacted Nassau County Police Commissioner James Lawrence to inform him of the investigation into the many allegations by the parents of the youths who had been arrested. Commissioner Lawrence said he had no problem with the investigation but did add that his Internal Affairs Unit was already investigating the allegation against members of the police department charging that they mocked and threatened the students inside the station house.

Both Beau Dietl representatives outlined in great detail how they conducted the investigation. One part of the team focused on the Center Street School, one part on the surrounding neighborhood. Ciravalo said, "We chose very experienced investigators and told the district that right from the start they would go "right down the middle" and "let the chips fall where they may" and "no matter what they found in their investigation it would be reported."

The following is the conclusion reached by the investigative firm of Beau Ditel & Associates and signed by president Michael N. Ciravolo:

After an exhaustive investigation and dozens of interviews with students, parents, school district staff, neighbors and other witnesses, it is clear that the original allegations made by the parents and the New York Civil Liberties Union has no basis in fact.

First, there were no white students in the group that were allowed to walk away from the Center Street School without being arrested. Not one person interviewed, including numerous Asian/Indian students, ever recalls even one white student, or for that matter a black or Hispanic student. Everyone is clear that all students/teenagers involved were Asian/Indian. Thus, the charge that the police engaged in "racial roundup" is simply not true.

Second, the assertion that the group gathered to play basketball is simply not supported by the facts. Not one person interviewed, other than parents, lawyers has made this claim. In fact, when specifically questioned as to whether or not any of the teenagers were carrying a basketball, all independent witnesses answered that a basketball was never observed. Finally, one of the young women involved in this event laughed at the suggestion the students may have been playing or intended to play basketball by stating that "this was simply a story concocted to tell gullible parents."

The charge that the school superintendent overreacted by calling the police and pressing charges is irresponsible and inaccurate on the face of it. The police were called to prevent a gang fight or some other serious assault. On numerous occasions over a 30-minute period, all the teenagers were given ample warnings and ample opportunities to leave the school grounds, both at the high school and the elementary school. By leaving the high school, but reassembling at the Center Street School, the teenagers chose not to take the opportunity to take themselves out of harm's way. In fact it could be argued that such action left the superintendent with no other choice but to press charges since the teenagers would not heed pleadings and admonishments of school officials and police officers. Investigation disclosed a period of about 20 minutes went by before arrests were effected. It is my professional opinion that the school administrator acted professionally and properly.

Lastly, the allegation claiming that the arrested teenagers were made fun of by police when they were in custody, along with the most recent complaints about the police outlined in this report are being investigated by the Nassau County Police officials, according to Police Commissioner James Lawrence.

Prior to opening the meeting up to the public it was pointed out that the investigators were unable to question all 19 students, (only five of those teenagers were actually from Herricks High) nor were they able to question the police officers involved because they are being investigated by the police department.

Further, the investigators said they found out that the real reason for the incident was that a male student at Herricks High disrespected a female student at Herricks High. She in turn informed some friends who attend Martin Van Buren High School and they informed their friends at Elmont High School and Cordoza and one individual from Stuyvesant High School.

The first person to speak when the floor was opened up to the public, was the president of the Herricks Teacher Association Susan Arlock who said that there was a potentially dangerous situation at the Center Street School since there were many young children attending an after school program. She added, "We all feel that Dr. Bierwirth should be commended for his actions." After she finished speaking, the audience erupted into spontaneous applause.

Then Bill Tountas came to the mike and asked that since many of the students involved in the incident were not from the Herricks community, are any steps being taken to be able to monitor who is on school grounds?

Board President Sutz said that Dr. Bierwirth and his staff are doing a complete study of all of the security in the entire district and when that is completed it will be discussed at a future board meeting.

Then it was Dr. Bierwirth's turn to speak. He explained that until the investigation was completed it was felt that it would be best if he not comment and he pointed out that he didn't want to speak until all the facts were on the table.

Dr. Bierwirth said,"We all make mistakes particularly when we are young and I don't expect perfection from young people. But when they do make a mistake, I would hope that they acknowledge it and learn from it and that we help them through the process as parents and educators."

Bierwirth continued, "What has disturbed me the most since Oct. 25 is not the fact that something happened on that day because fortunately, if there was a fight it did not grow to be a serious one and as far as I know no one was hurt. But what has disturbed me the most is that for a month the young people involved, 14 of whom are not from this community, have insisted on the basketball story and far as I know there was no basketball that day and I heard no one contend that they came out here on a regular basis from Queens and Elmont to play basketball. Those 19 young people made up a story and misled their parents. I do not blame the parents because I think that parents owe it to their kids to believe in them. But they misled their parents and have continued to do so up until this point."

He said, "As a parent and as an educator that concerns me a great deal more than the fact that there was almost a fight. As a kid I was taught that the worst thing I could do was to lie, cheat and steal. If I strayed from that course my dad would say, 'look me in the eye and tell me the truth.' He said the worst thing I could ever do to him was to lie."

Bierwirth said, "If the students involved had come forward and told the truth I believe this would have passed. But they have not chosen to do so. Therefore, I suggest to the rest of us to move on and if they do not choose to move on with us that is their choice."

At the end of the meeting Board President Sutz issued the following statement:

The Board of Education would like to thank the various members of the staff and community who came forward to share their observations and knowledge. I would like to make the following motion: That Dr. John Bierwirth demonstrated our great trust in him by his conduct in handling this matter. The board of education thanks him and reaffirms its complete confidence in him.

The motion was voted on by all the board members and once again the audience broke into thunderous applause.

The next board meeting will be held on Dec. 19 at 7:15 p.m. at the Community Center, 999 Herricks Road, New Hyde Park. Topics on the agenda will include attendance policy revision, budget building process and a report on the status of the roofs.