By Mike Caputo
for terminating his employment in March, according to records filed with the Nassau County Clerk¹s office on July 19.
According to the documents, the former teacher, Jeffrey Berke, 58, of Rockville Centre, claims that he officially retired from his tenured position before the Board of Education acted to fire him in a resolution passed on March 20. According to state education regulations, if he retired before he was fired, the school board would not have the power to terminate his employment, and Berke would still be entitled to retirement benefits.
In a statement, Berke¹s attorneys, James R. Sandner and Aileen Calcagni, said the board¹s disciplinary action against Berke ³is a nullity and was arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of discretion [and] a violation of lawful procedure² because he ³was no longer a tenured teacher within the District¹s employ at the time the charges were preferred.²
The attorneys also alleged that Berke was denied his rights under the due process clause of the New York State Constitution and under the provisions of the Education Law.
Berke maintains that he is ³entitled to recision² of the March resolution terminating his employment because he was no longer employed by the district.
On Jan. 31, nearly four months after Berke was arrested and charged with three counts of possession of a sexual performance of a child younger than 16, the teacher submitted an application for retirement to the New York State Teachers Retirement System, and the district stopped paying his salary, according to the documents. Berke¹s application showed that he wanted to make his retirement effective Feb. 9.
Berke, who earned a salary of $91,000 after teaching special education in the district for 19 years, requested maximum retirement benefits. A Feb. 14 letter from the retirement system, which provides retirement, disability and death benefits to eligible public-school teachers and administrators, confirmed his requested retirement date.
In a statement of disciplinary charges against Berke drafted by the board at a Feb. 27 executive session, Superintendent Dr. John Fitzsimons informed Berke that he could be removed from his position because his criminal charges led to a violation of a state education regulation known as ³determination of moral character.²
Berke said he did not receive the notification of disciplinary charges because he was serving time in the Nassau County Correctional Facility. He was released from jail on March 15. Since he did not respond within 10 days of receiving the notice of charges, Berke automatically waived his right to a hearing, according to state education regulations.
The documents filed with the county clerk further state that both Berke and the Teachers Retirement System notified the district of his retirement prior to the Board¹s Feb. 27 executive session. However, a resolution passed by the school board on March 20 stated that although the retirement system confirmed Berke¹s retirement, he had not submitted his resignation to the district.
Berke notified the district of his retirement for the second time on April 12, and requested terminal leave pay for his remaining sick days. In June, Berke filed a notice of claim against the district.
Neither Berke¹s attorneys nor District 15 officials returned calls for comment.
Comments about this story? MCaputo@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 210.
