Updated: School Board Accepts Laria's Resignation

The Glen Cove Board of Education voted unanimously to accept the sudden resignation of Superintendent Joseph Laria Thursday, seven weeks shy of his planned departure.

A group of 20 residents packed a meeting room in Thayer House and requested answers about the resignation. Some addressed reports of Laria allowing a student to drive his car in the parking lot outside on Wednesday, an allegation also noted by Newsday, but the Board declined to immediately respond to any allegations.

Louis Zocchia, assistant superintendent for human resources, was appointed interim superintendent until Maria Rianna takes the post July 1. Board president Joel Sunshine said Zocchia would retain his current salary and receive a $5,000 stipend for assuming the superintendent's duties.

The Board voted 6-0 to accept the resignation. Trustee Ida McQuair was unable to make it to the emergency session, said Sunshine.

Asked how the ongoing investigations of the district will be affected, Sunshine said, "We got notified of the resignation hours ago, today, so we haven't had a lot of opportunity to process anything, but we don't anticipate this changing any aspect of school district business."

Sunshine said Laria had promised to make himself available to Zocchia for any questions, but contact would be limited to Zocchia's choosing. Resident Janet Blatt was not satisfied.

"It appears to me that Dr. Laria should be gone, and that means gone. No contact; nothing to do with this school district," she said. "The fact is, from where I'm sitting, he's done enough damage, and not just this incident but the entire time he's been here."

Tensions have been high at recent Board meetings as questions about investigations into test coaching at Landing and Connolly elementary schools and grade-changing at Glen Cove High School have been sidestepped by the Board. Resident Zefy Christopoulos called on Laria to leave at Monday's meeting, reiterating the belief she shares with others in the community that the investigations amount to a "witch hunt."

Laria, Board members and the district's attorney have repeatedly maintained that any allegations have proved valid enough to warrant serious investigation.

A statement issued by the district did not cite a reason for Laria's resignation, but said he: "Expressed deep regret for his departure, and assures us that he will remain available to assist as necessary during the leadership transition period." 

As residents grilled Board members over the facts and implications surrounding the alleged car incident and Laria's leadership in general, trustee Barry Dratch promised an investigation into Laria's mental health and decisions he made in the last year.

His resignation comes a day after the story about Laria allowing a student to drive his car began filtering through the community.

A student who asked not to be named said he was in class taking a test Wednesday when he noticed his teacher looking out the window with a strange look on his face. The student said he looked out and saw Laria and three students approach Laria's Lexus and enter it, with a male student taking the driver's seat, Laria getting in the passenger's side and the other two students getting in the back seat.

"I saw the car start and I was thinking to myself, like, there's no way he's actually gonna let them drive his car. And then I saw the kid put it into reverse...they had backed out of the spot, pulled back into it, then backed out again and did a circle around the parking lot, and then they sat in the car for like another five minutes and then the kids got out. Then they went back into the car, then got out and came back into the school," said the student.

He said his teacher reacted incredulously as he watched.

"He said, 'You're seeing this, right?' and I was like, 'yeah,'" he said. "I couldn't believe that he was actually letting the kid drive his car."

Laria accepted the position of interim superintendent of schools in Glen Cove in the spring of 2010 after Laurence Aronstein retired. He was appointed superintendent midway through the 2010-11 school year.

"Always showing a devout interest in our students’ success, Dr. Laria was a fixture at many district events during the last three years. We thank him for his contributions to Glen Cove, and wish him well in his retirement," the district's statement said.

Matthew Kolbert, a senior at Glen Cove High School who received numerous citations from the Board this year for his academic and extracurricular achievements, attended the special meeting with his mother. As the Board sat in executive session before the public portion, he spoke of a recent discussion his AP Politics and Government class recently had about how his school's successes in the last few years are being overshadowed by negative attention.

"We talked about how much the school has gotten better. Things like City 2 City and the sports teams. The clubs are stronger, extracurriculars are stronger," he said. "It just sucks to be ashamed of your school."