DELMAR — During a special meeting of Bethlehem Central School District’s Board of Education, held at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 29, trustees ratified a settlement agreement between the district and its former high school principal, Scott Landry.
The board met in executive session following last Wednesday’s negotiations at Capital Region BOCES in Colonie. While BCSD Superintendent Jody Monroe declined comment following the school board meeting, several sources involved with the proceedings confirmed that the school board had ratified the settlement agreement.
The terms of the agreement have not been disclosed. SpotlightNews has filed a request with Bethlehem Central to obtain a copy of the agreement through the Freedom of Information Law.
Landry has been on leave from his role as principal since early May, when the school district allegedly reacted to a series of emails exchanged between the administrator and potential clients for his private consulting business in late April.
Landry had attended a Capital District-wide job fair as a representative of BCSD prior to being placed on leave. He reportedly obtained a mailing list of people looking for jobs. Soon afterwards, he had sent emails out to those people, offering his insight and coaching advice for a fee to help clients land prospective jobs in education. Immediately afterwards, Bethlehem Central received complaints about the emails.
Landry has maintained his innocence, claiming that he had done nothing wrong by sending solicitations for his consulting services.
Lawyers from both sides were prepared to present arguments in what was scheduled to be a disciplinary hearing last Wednesday. Boxes of evidence were visible from both sides of the conference table, as Landry, his lawyer, the hearing officer and school district lawyers appeared ready to proceed. It was then that Monroe appeared before the doorway, not stepping inside until everyone left the hearing room to meet in private. An agreement was announced nearly four hours later.
SpotlightNews will continue to report on the terms of the agreement once they are made available to us.
