MAMARONECK, NY (August 28, 2022) — Superintendent Robert Shaps and Mamaroneck Board of Education President Ariana Cohen sent a letter to the school community on Friday, August 26 to say a resolution had been reached by both parties in a lawsuit filed in 2020 and the District was close to resolving a related complaint filed with the Civil Rights Bureau of the NYS Office of the Attorney General.
While they did not provide details, the case is believed to the complaint linked below.
A.A. et al. v. Mamaroneck Union Free School District et al. (7:20-cv-03849-CS)
Cathy Seibel, presiding
Date filed: 05/18/2020
Date of last filing: 08/24/2022
- A settlement has been reached by the parties and submitted to the court in the legal case
- If approved by the judge, it would result in a confidential financial settlement paid by the district’s insurers
- A non-monetary agreement would require the district to review its harassment policies
- A related investigation by the Civil Rights Bureau of the NYS Office of the Attorney General may also soon be resolved
What they are saying:
Mamaroneck Superintendent Robert Shaps: “We believe these developments are important, especially because over the past three years, significant progress has been made through work that encompasses the participation of our students, staff, and broader community. The obvious need to simply be better has resulted in systemic change, notable for how district leaders and other employees address issues of intolerance or insensitivity. These intensive efforts, under way for the past several years, have informed our individual and collective awareness, our conversations, our programs, and our practices. We are eager to continue to share this information with our community, as it represents meaningful evolutionary steps in the culture of our schools. By no means, however, should this be deemed self-congratulatory. The hurt experienced is deeply regrettable. Your Board of Education, the Superintendent of Schools and leadership team also believe it is time for our schools to define themselves beyond the well-understood grievances of the past. We believe it is time for us to begin to celebrate that self-directed change is happening, that it will continue, and that it will benefit all of Mamaroneck’s students and our broader community. Racial intolerance and systemic inequity can take many forms in a school district and is a pernicious issue that must be rigorously addressed through confrontation, implementation, and systemic improvement. Intolerance is an unavoidable part of the human condition; however, as a place of learning, we recognize our ethical and moral responsibility to squarely confront this reality for the betterment of our students and community.”