Thursday, October 1, 2026
The Freeport Board of Education Action Meeting on Jan. 29 was full of tense interactions, indicative of the dissatisfaction of the Freeport Teachers Association and other community members with district administrators and board trustees.
The meeting, in the cafeteria of the Caroline G. Atkinson School, was a long and often uncomfortable ordeal for those on both sides. Demands for transparency and better stewardship of school resources and taxpayer dollars have not abated, and there is little evidence that tensions will ease any time soon.
Before the meeting, Freeport High School special education teacher Christopher Dressler detailed some of the FTA’s frustrations, which have only deepened in recent months.
“First and foremost, the teachers of Freeport are here because we feel like we’re not providing students the best product we can because of the leadership we have,” Dressler said, referring to district administration. “We’re lacking transparency. We’re lacking guidance and leadership from administrative roles as well as the school board.”
Dressler explained that the involuntary transfer of social studies teacher Patricia Langan, the FTA president, from Freeport High School to John W. Dodd Middle School in December remains a main point of contention for union members. Many believe that the transfer was retaliation for Langan’s vocal criticism of the district, and that it was in violation of her contract. District representatives have maintained that the move was in response to a harassment complaint filed by another employee against Langan.
Many the union members arrived at the meeting with signs they have displayed at previous demonstrations, with messages like, “When contracts are broken, students pay the price,” “Freeport students deserve better” and “Transparency builds trust — try it!”
A separate group of protesters, comprising district security personnel and food service workers, were also seeking favorable contract terms. They crafted some of their own signs as they waited for the meeting to begin, and many chanted, “Food service!”
At 8:20 p.m., nearly an hour after the scheduled start time, school board President Sunday Coward and the other trustees arrived — the delay, attendees were told, due to an executive committee meeting that ran longer than expected at the district office across the street. There were calls of “Respect our time!” from the crowd.
The district representatives in attendance included Coward; board Vice President Scott Richardson; Trustees Sonia Dixon, Alphonso Hardwick and Dina Skeffrey; Interim Superintendent of Schools Alice Kane; Interim Assistant Superintendent Anthony Murray; Marie Gaboton-Swift, interim executive director for personnel; Gavin Romane, executive director for pupil personnel services; and Idowu Ogundipe, executive school business administrator. Dixon apologized for the delay.
After announcements about student athletic, academic and other extracurricular accomplishments across the district, work on the 2026-27 budget and personnel items — recent retirements, hires and the like — Coward allowed two people to address the board.
The second public comment came from FTA member Karen Stander, who spoke about the positivity that Langan, who was in the audience, brought to the Freeport High community amid the “harassment” she had been subjected to by district and school administrators. Stander said that Langan’s classroom had been vandalized, and that tampons had been put in her lunch bag.
Stander also claimed that Langan had made recordings of harassing comments made by a former Freeport High assistant principal —whom she did not name— but Langan, in an “act of professionalism,” had never made them public. Stander called for Langan to “release the tapes” and let the community know about the harassment.
After the meeting, Langan confirmed that such tapes do exist, but said she was not sure whether she would continue to withhold them, given her belief that contentious issues focusing on everything from safety to administrative problems across the district have not been resolved.
“We’re going to continue to fight this until they understand that they’re bound by a contract,” Langan said of school board leadership. “They have to respect the teaching staff and all the other support staff.”
Coward told the Herald that she welcomed even tense discussions, in the interest of improving the district, and remained confident that “things will work themselves out.”
A town hall meeting is scheduled for Feb. 9, at 7 p.m., in the Freeport High School Performing Arts Center. Coward announced at the conclusion of the action meeting that comments on specified topics can be made at the Town Hall with an open mic, without having to pre-submit questions. The topics will include an update on the status of the Cleveland Avenue property, the history of change in the school district, personnel changes, student information systems and a status update on the much-discussed search for a new superintendent.
