Some parents question latest Rye teacher's settlement

Written bySwapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, LoHud

RYE — While parents greeted the news of Osborn Elementary School teacher Gail Topol’s return after a 9-month administrative leave with enthusiasm, some believe she received preferential treatment because of her ties to the school board president.

Topol is one of four teachers — two each from Osborn and Milton — placed on administrative leave for “improper coaching” during the state assessment tests in April.

Last week, Trustee Ed Fox asked board President Laura Slack to recuse herself from negotiations with Topol, just minutes before the board voted to approve the settlement.

Slack’s husband, Richard, was recently appointed to the Rye City Council by new Mayor Joseph Sack, whose wife represented Topol. Fox demanded an independent investigation.

“The public will be left to wonder if this was a sweetheart deal or whether the employee was unfairly held hostage, at significant expense to the district, until a particular benefit was provided,” said Fox. “Moreover, other similarly situated employees will wonder if they are being treated fairly because they have different lawyers who cannot deliver a City Council seat or some other benefit to board members or board members’ family members.”

Slack and all other members of the board promptly condemned Fox’s “insinuations.” On Tuesday, the district released a statement saying a review conducted by its law firm had found Fox’s comments “baseless.”

Meanwhile, Fox said Wednesday that he had not seen a copy of the “review” by the law firm, but was not surprised by its conclusion.

“It’s no surprise that the district's law firm, which, in my view, has mishandled this matter from the outset, would conclude that the matter in which it has been involved has been handled appropriately,” he said. “The fact remains that there was participation in the matter by a board member who, in my view, had an indirect interest. In accordance with board policy, she therefore should have disclosed the interest and recused herself but failed to do so.”

Erik Kamander, one of 117 parents who signed a petition in May to reinstate the two Osborn teachers, said he was surprised by the way Fox was being attacked by other board members for simply pointing out a potential conflict of interest.

“It’s indisputable that there was a conflict of interest,” said Kamander. “Whether it resulted in a quid pro quo arrangement, we will never know.”

Topol, who has taught in the district for 25 years, will pay a fine of $2,500 and convert 27 days of her administrative reassignment to a paid suspension, according to documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Law request. Her 2012-13 salary was listed at $126,409.

The paid suspension will be deemed “to have already been served” as Topol was placed on administrative leave in May, along with the other teachers.

Gold, a fourth-grade teacher at Milton School, entered into a settlement Jan. 17, and resigned Jan. 31. The other two teachers, Carin Mehler, a fourth-grade teacher at Osborn, and Dana Coppola, a third-grade teacher at Milton, remain on leave.

Boukje van den Bosch-Smits, whose daughter was in Mehler's class, said she was not statisfied with the district’s review of a potential conflict of interest.

“If it is the same law firm (which negotiated with Topol) conducting the investigation, it can hardly be called independent,” she said. “The message to the public is, it matters who your lawyer is.”

Fox said the board has a policy against the “appearance of impropriety” for a reason.

“This situation makes Rye look like a banana republic,” he said. “And a review by an interested law firm does nothing to change that.”