Long Island principal faces dismissal hearing after being accused of groping staff at PTA luncheon: report

A Long Island principal is accused of groping two school employees at a PTA luncheon, sparking a heated disciplinary hearing that could see her ousted over claims she created a hostile, sexually charged work environment, according to a reports.Karen Heitner, the principal of Pasadena Elementary School in Plainview, allegedly grabbed both women’s butts during a June 2023 PTA event — leaving them feeling “violated” and “angry,” they testified last week.“I felt violated,” Stacey Ross, a former 17-year employee in the district, said on the stand at the hearing according to The Long Island Press.If the allegations are upheld, Plainview-Old Bethpage School District will revoke her tenure and terminate her employment, according to the rules outlined in New York’s 3020-a disciplinary process for tenured educators, a disciplinary process that began for Heitner in April.The hearings are administrative — not criminal — and are usually held privately, but Heitner chose to make hers public as she fights administrative charges that accuse her of sexual harassment, discrimination, and even pushing multiple women to retire.An internal investigation already concluded Heitner’s alleged behavior violated the district’s sexual harassment policy, but the two women testified that they were subjected to more than just harassment — calling themselves victims of a sexual assault.The alleged butt-grabbing incident occurred in front of an ice cream truck in the school courtyard, according Ross, who said Heitner walked up behind her and touched her.Ross said she turned around in shock — and heard Heitner say, “I goosed you.”That same staffer testified that she now suffers from anxiety and nightmares, eventually resigning from the district, giving up seniority, pay, and the school community she loved.“I wanted to escape from this,” Ross testified Monday.“She ruined my plan to retire here.”The second woman — a speech therapist who was nearby when the ...