Embattled Hempstead superintendent claims he discovered illegal financial activity in district

<p>Embattled Hempstead School Superintendent Shimon Waronker claims he's being silenced after discovering illegal financial activity in the district.</p>

News 12 Staff

Jan 19, 2018, 10:34 PM

Updated 2,532 days ago

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Embattled Hempstead School Superintendent Shimon Waronker claims he's being silenced after discovering illegal financial activity in the district.
Waronker's attorney, Fred Brewington, filed an injunction to block the Hempstead School Board's vote to place Waronker on administrative leave for 60 days.
Brewington says the board violated Waronker's constitutional and contractual rights by placing him on leave shortly after he sent a memo to board members on Dec. 6 last year. In the letter, Waronker wrote, "After raising questions about suspected illegal financial activity to the members of the district, no corrective action has taken place." Waronker added that he would report his findings to law enforcement.
"They're trying to silence this man and retaliate against him for speaking truth to a system that is rotten," Brewington said. "There's no question that there's an attempt to try and silence him and prevent him from having the ability to speak to these issues."
The issues, according to Waronker, include wrongful use of federal money and improper hiring practices.
As News 12 Long Island has reported, the three-member majority on the board created a new policy to put Waronker on leave.
"What the board did, essentially, was suspend him without any notice, without any charges, without any specifications," Brewington said.
The board members did not immediately respond to calls from News 12.
A federal judge will hear Waronker's case Tuesday.
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