Interim superintendent appointed as Freeport board experiences turmoil

The Freeport school district is in chaos, and no one beyond the administration and the Board of Education seems to know why.

Superintendent Fia Davis was placed on administrative reassignment at a special board meeting on April 21, which only three of five members of the board attended. Her reassignment, to an unspecified position, includes full pay and benefits.

“This action was taken in accordance with the Board’s legal and fiduciary responsibilities,” a statement released by the district on April 23 read, “and reflects our ongoing commitment to maintaining the highest standards of professional conduct and accountability.”

The statement went on to say that due to legal and personnel privacy considerations, that the board was limited in what it could share about the development, but that “administrative reassignment is a neutral action and does not imply any wrongdoing.”

Davis replaced Kishore Kuncham in August, when Kuncham retired after 15 years as superintendent. She had previously served as superintendent of several school districts in the Bronx.

In addition, it was announced that Assistant Superintendent Glori Engel would be leaving the district at an April 23 board meeting.

Multiple people  with knowledge of the situation revealed that Assistant Superintendent Benjamin Roberts would also be leaving to pursue other opportunities.

At another special meeting on Tuesday, at Caroline G. Atkinson Intermediate School, the board appointed Alice Kane, a former assistant superintendent for educational and administrative services who retired in 2023, as the district’s interim superintendent.

Kane will be paid $94,000 from May 1 through September. 

Roberts, the assistant superintendent for personnel and special projects, said, “I think with confidence this won’t have an impact on any of our students programs in the upcoming budget for the current school year.”

The Board offered no further explanation for its action – citing legal and privacy considerations and stating the need for a full investigation before the matter could be made public – but meeting attendees had plenty of questions.

“Can you explain why there has been a lack of transparency regarding the decision to place the superintendent on administrative leave, with pay?” asked Kenneth Saunders, whose daughter, Lourdes, is the valedictorian of Freeport High School’s senior class. “Why weren’t more board members involved in a decision of this magnitude?”

Saunders ticked off a number of other questions before concluding, “If there aren’t any answers that can be given today, I’m just asking that we get those answers before the budget is approved. We’re only looking for transparency and clarity from our elected board members. We need clarity from the board on what has happened, what is happening and what will happen.”

“Freeport is in a crisis,” Saunders added, “and no one is saying anything about it.”

“We duly elected each of you, because there was some sense of trust,” attendee Ebony Russell told the board. “And I’m emphasizing was. When you seemingly make decisions that are not in the best interest of our community, how can we continue to trust you with our most precious babies?"

“I’m not sure who thought it was a reasonable idea to suspend a brand new superintendent without even a year right before the math state tests, graduations and other culminating events that are near and dear to our community,” Russel added. “You have created an atmosphere of instability, and quite frankly (this) makes the Freeport board look small and petty. Whether indirectly or directly, you are creating a sense of chaos.”

The audience applauded when Russel finished.

There was even criticism from the two school board members who did not attend the meeting at which Davis was reassigned.

“I find it just a little deeply problematic in the expediency in which the decision happened,” Trustee and Vice President of the Board Shuron Jackson said. “It was within the same day that we received notification that this action would be taken.”

“I think we all, again, speaking to all board members, have to keep in mind that we’re responsible as individuals for the decisions that we’re making,” said Trustee Maria Jordan-Awalom, who was out of the country on April 21, seeming to imply the presence of voting bloc within the board.

“Everybody was notified about that meeting,” Trustee Scott Richardson said as part of a larger statement in which he defended the decision and spoke to his love of Freeport. “Everybody spoke and responded to that meeting, but one person, the other person just chose not to show up.”

“We got an email at 2:44 p.m. for a 5:00 meeting — that’s transparent,” Jackson responded. “We never have meetings at 5, and so we could just leave it there, with those numbers, and people can do with that what they may.”

Board President Sunday Coward defended the board’s decision by emphasizing that it was a majority consensus, and denied the existence of a voting bloc on the board. 

“I have seen the attacks on my leadership,” Coward said, adding that she would “stand up every day for what’s right for this community.”

Kane appeared to reduce the tension in the room by speaking to the audience, and earning applause herself.

“Having worked here for a long time, Freeport gets in your heart and soul and stays with you,” she said. “And so for me, it’s ‘happy to be home.’ It’s a very hard time, but I will do my best for everyone.”