On Thursday, Feb. 7, the Mineola School District held a regularly scheduled board of education meeting at the Willis Avenue School. The first item on the agenda was a board vote on tenure for Michael Nagler, the deputy superintendent. Generally the meetings start on time at 7:30 p.m., but this meeting didn't begin until after 8 p.m. Legal papers had been served upon the district late that day naming the Mineola School District, the superintendent Lorenzo Licopoli and the deputy superintendent Michael Nagler as defendants. Copies of the lawsuit were circulated during the delay, and it is generally accepted that neither the district nor the board circulated the same. The delay in starting the meeting was not addressed other than board president John McGrath noting that as soon as the "stragglers" arrived the meeting would begin. Per the paperwork the nature of the case is unlawful employment discrimination.

It is neither for me nor any member of the public to determine the merits of this case; that is why we have courts. That being said, I am asking Dr. Licopoli to table the tenure resolution and absent that, I strongly urge every board member to table any discussion of a tenure vote with respect to Dr. Nagler until this case has been determined through the court system.

In this country, the accused are entitled to their day in court, so too, the students and taxpayers of the district should be entitled to tenure decisions that are based upon the entire picture of the candidate and thus the only correct decision is to wait until the legal determination has been rendered.

Debra Lee Donovan