Greeley High School Protestors Call for McKay’s Resignation

By Andrew Vitelli

Criticizing the district’s response to allegations of sexual abuse by former high school drama teacher Christopher Schraufnagel, Chappaqua parents protested outside the district’s administration building Monday morning and called for Superintendent Dr. Lyn McKay to resign.

“We feel that our district needs new leadership,” said Julia Abitanta, one of the parents who helped organize the protest. “We feel that in the last 15 months the appropriate steps have not been taken.”

Holding signs reading “No Confidence,” “Time for Change” and “New Leadership Now,” around 20 protestors stood along the sidewalk as cars passed by on the way to the high school, some honking in support.

“We just decided that we were going old school and taking it to the streets,” said Jane Shepardson, who along with Abitanta and Heather Lafortezza helped organize the protest. “I think a lot of people haven’t had the time or the inclination to follow this or realize really what was going on.”

Schraufnagel was suspended with pay in June 2015 after allegations of inappropriate contact with children emerged. He resigned last September.

Schraufnagel agreed to plead guilty to three counts of endangering the welfare of a child in early August. If accepted by the judge, the plea deal would allow the former teacher to avoid jail time and to avoid registering as a sex offender. He also faces a series of civil lawsuits brought by former students.

The district has faced heavy criticism for its response to the allegations. The board of education and McKay’s administration, parents have argued, responded slowly and failed to communicate with the community.

In court papers filed in response to the civil suits, the district claimed injuries suffered by the students were “caused by or contributed to by reason of the carelessness, recklessness, negligence and/or assumption of the risk,” leading to accusations from community members that the district was blaming the students for being abused.

“We don’t feel that the legal strategy supported the community,” said Abitanta. “I think it was very hurtful to the families and it should have been handled differently.”

E-mails and phone calls to McKay’s office Monday and e-mails to the school board were not returned.

Last month, Chappaqua residents began circulating a petition demanding accountability on the part of the district. Parents attending Monday’s protest blasted the district for not bringing in an outside body to investigate and said a change of leadership is needed to restore confidence.

“Sadly, there is a roadmap for this. It has happened in many other districts and there is a way forward,” said Lafortezza. “Through transparency and through bringing people together, not shutting them out.”

Barbara Buxbaum, a mother of two children in the district, said she received an e-mail Sunday saying there would be a protest the following morning.

“What made me come out here is the fact that I care about the well-being of the children in the community, and I want to stand up for them, for all kids here in town, and for all families,” Buxbaum said. “I think we all need to work together to fix these problems.”

Julia Burton, a mother of two Horace Greeley High School students, said she was appalled when she learned of the proposed plea deal, which would allow Schraufnagel to avoid registering as a sex offender.

“I feel very strongly that I don’t want to be part of a community that takes a predator like this and just sends him off to the next community,” said Burton. “When the plea deal came out, I started paying a lot more attention. I really don’t like the way it’s been managed the whole way.”

Meanwhile, the attorney representing four current or former students Horace Greeley students in their civil lawsuits against Schraufnagel and the district applauded community members for demanding that district officials be held accountable for their failure to address the crisis.

“The families that I represent want to thank the entire community for their continued support, culminating in today’s peaceful demonstration,” said attorney David Engelsher.