The board of education for Valhalla’s Union Free School District met on December 29 — the Saturday after Christmas and before New Year’s — to formally suspend current Superintendent of Schools, Karen Geelan and name her interim replacement.
The sudden weekend BOE meeting voted to formally and immediately suspend the then-unnamed district employee with full pay and benefits, with a formal investigation to follow. The board then approved a resolution to appoint Assistant Superintendent for Business Christina Howe as acting superintendent.
Howe has worked for Valhalla UFSD since 2011, with more than three decades of experience in education, according to the public announcement made by the BOE.
Geelan became acting superintendent herself in just over a year ago when her predecessor Brenda Myers retired. She officially took on the roll in January 2018, with an annual salary of $260,000 and still has two years left on her contract.
While neither Geelan nor the Valhalla BOE wish to comment on the suspension or pending investigation, the BOE did issue the following statement via Facebook:
“We recognize the unusual nature of this announcement and understand that our community members have questions. At this time, as this is a confidential personnel matter, for legal reasons we are unable to address specific questions.”
The BOE promises to publicly share further details on the matter as it becomes possible.
