WEBUTUCK — After years of service and various administrative reassignments, former Principal Ken Sauer has officially resigned from the North East (Webutuck) Central School District.
Sauer was first employed as principal of Webutuck High School (WHS) from 2004 to 2007 before he accepted another principals position in western New York. He later returned to the district in 2010 and was appointed principal of Webutuck Elementary School (WES) in the 2013-14 school year. In addition to his three years at WES, Sauer also served as principal of Eugene Brooks Intermediate School for half a year during the 2015-16 school year.
Throughout the course of his career at Webutuck, Sauer’s abilities as an administrator have been met with concern — and sometimes disciplinary action — from the district’s administration. Last winter, issues regarding Sauer’s conduct and behavior with staff members and students were called into question, resulting in an official independent investigation.
However, rather than letting Sauer go from the district, the Webutuck Board of Education made the decision to reassign him as principal of the high school.
This past summer, Sauer was appointed principal of WHS by the board, though the anticipation of having a familiar administrator in a well-suited position was short-lived. In the weeks leading up to the present school year, complaints related to Sauer’s “conduct and behavior with respect to his interactions with students and staff” were brought to light, leading to another investigation.
“Our goal is to make sure that all staff act in a professional manner,” said Superintendent of Schools Ray Castellani. “So we were just investigating whether there was a concern with regard to Mr. Sauer. We wanted to make sure all students, faculty and staff are treated equally and are in a safe environment.”
To ensure that the district’s students and families would be affected as little as possible, the board got ahead of the situation by appointing former high school and elementary school Principal Katy McEnroe as principal of WHS and former high school Principal Jennifer Hengen to the elementary school. In turn, Sauer was placed on administrative reassignment, but was not formally terminated from the district.
In comparison to the investigation that took place last winter, Castellani explained that the proceedings for the recent investigation were similar.
“We handle all investigations the same,” he said. “If there are complaints made or reasons to investigate, we rescind staff members so that they aren’t in any way influencing investigations.”
Castellani underlined that Sauer’s resignation was not a result of the investigation since Sauer made the decision to resign before the investigation had concluded. He also commented that Sauer had the right to make that determination for himself and the district had accepted his decision. As a result of Sauer’s resignation, the investigation came to a close.
This past Monday, Oct. 2, Sauer’s resignation from the district was officially accepted by the Webutuck Board of Education; it will come into effect on Sunday, Dec. 31.
As part of his resignation, the board approved a settlement with Sauer that ensures he will be paid through the end of December and will be entitled to health insurance until May 31, 2018.
At this point in time, Sauer has been reassigned to complete small projects for the district from home, such as organizing substitute handbooks and curriculum-related tasks, until his resignation becomes effective.
WHS Principal Katy McEnroe has already immersed herself in the responsibilities that her position entails.
“I was thrilled for it,” she said when recalling her appointment to the high school earlier this fall. “I looked forward to being the high school principal.”
With regard to her goals for running the high school, McEnroe plans to work with the staff and administrators to move the curriculum forward for the students.
“I’m going to lead it like I’ve led any other building,” she said in reference to her previous positions within the district, “so I’m hopefully going to lead the high school and help move it forward.”
Sauer did not respond to requests for comment.
