Ex-Holmdel schools chief out in Long Island BY DAN NEWMAN Staff Writer First, then-Holmdel Schools Superintendent Maureen Flaherty received a vote of no confidence from the township's teachers union. Now in her new stomping grounds, she isn't faring much better. Flaherty, a controversial superintendent in Holmdel until her departure in 2005, was suspended effective immediately on June 20 from the same position within the Massapequa, N.Y., school district. A four-paragraph letter was posted on the Long Island district's Web site last week, stating that the district would not provide further comment because it is a personnel matter. The statement did say that the suspension had nothing to do with theft, child abuse or sexual misconduct. Kathy Hodecker, former president of the Holmdel Township Education Association (HTEA), said that she heard about Flaherty's suspension and was not surprised in light of the events that led to her departure from Holmdel in the fall of 2005. "I'm sorry that another district had to endure her managerial style," Hodecker said. "Unfortunately, though, I'm not surprised that another district brought her in. That's how things work with administrators sometimes. They tend to bounce around from job to job." When Flaherty came to Holmdel for her two-year stint, she had already been involved in a controversy at her previous district, Florida, N.Y., where she was sued by a principal of one of the district's elementary schools, who claimed that she and the district violated his right to free speech. Once in Holmdel, Flaherty's tenure was marked by frequent clashes with parents and the Holmdel Township Education Association (HTEA), mostly over personnel issues. The tension came to a head in June 2005, when the HTEA issued a vote of no confidence to Flaherty and the board for supposedly breaking a promise to include teachers' input in the search for a new principal and assistant principals at the high school. Charles Sulc, a 37-year veteran of the Massapequa School District, including 16 years as assistant or deputy superintendent, has been named Massapequa's acting superintendent. Massapequa is located along the south shore of Nassau County, Long Island, about a 40-minute commute to Manhattan. Attempts to contact Flaherty and district spokesman Michael Conte were unsuccessful.