Freeport's interim schools superintendent, Alice Kane, to leave next month
Interim Freeport schools Superintendent Alice Kane during a town hall meeting at Freeport High School on Nov. 17. Credit: Howard Simmons
Freeport's interim schools superintendent is stepping down after nearly a year in the position, marking an abrupt departure months before the school year ends.
Alice Kane, who has led the district since last April after Superintendent Fia Davis was placed on administrative reassignment, will leave after April 1, according to a letter from board president Sunday F. Coward that was shared with the community Friday.
Coward said board members have already convened to consider the appointment of a new interim superintendent and will share more details at the next board meeting, scheduled for Wednesday.
Coward thanked Kane for her service and said: “I want to reassure our community that the outlook for the district remains positive.”
“Our executive leadership team continues to carry out the important work they were hired to do, and we remain confident in their ability to lead and support our schools during this transition,” her letter read in part.
It is unusual for a top administrator to leave in the middle of a school year and before the May budget vote.
Kane is a former Freeport assistant superintendent who came out of retirement to fill the interim role. She said in a separate letter to the community Friday that her departure is “simply a return to retirement,” as she had originally planned.
“I am proud of the progress we have made together and believe the district is in a stronger place than when I arrived,” she wrote. “While there is still important work ahead, I am confident that with the current Board and leadership, that work is absolutely within reach.”
Kane declined to comment further Friday. Coward did not respond to a request for further comment.
Community frustration
For months, community members have expressed frustration that the district has not had a permanent superintendent and questioned the cost of paying for two schools chiefs.
Kane is being paid a per diem amount of $1,229, according to a copy of her employment agreement that Newsday obtained through a Freedom of Information Law request. Davis’ base salary for 2024-25 was $295,000.
The district in February sued Davis, seeking to recoup hundreds of thousands of dollars from her. The suit alleged Davis misled the district about when she would earn her doctoral degree, spent $100,000 in district funds to renovate her office and had the district contract with a friend without disclosing their affiliation.
Davis has not commented publicly on the allegations.
Coward said in her letter Friday that the legal matter remains unresolved.
Patty Langan, president of Freeport’s teachers union, said the administrative turnover has led to confusion and tension.
“The district is in turmoil,” Langan said in an interview Friday. “This is not conducive to us becoming the best educators that we can be for the students. And the students deserve better than this.”
Langan was involuntarily transferred from her teaching position in the high school to the middle school in December. She has alleged it was retaliation for her criticism of the school board and district leadership.
Kane has denied the accusation and school officials have declined to comment on Langan’s transfer, citing personnel matters.
The transfer of Langan and a high school administrator last December sparked a student assembly that turned into a protest, during which some teens walked out of school. There was also a rally by teachers and parents who called for more transparency from school leadership.
Dandan Zou covers education for Newsday. Previously, she worked for a community newspaper in Maryland and a personal finance magazine in Washington, D.C.
