Freeport schools superintendent Fia Davis reinstated after being placed on leave

The Freeport school board reinstated the district’s superintendent — whom a previous board had placed on leave and sued — during a special meeting Wednesday night.

The vote was 4-1 to bring back Fia Davis, who has been on paid leave since April 2025. In a second 4-1 vote, the board terminated its agreement with interim Superintendent Shakirah Miller, effective July 30. Davis is set to return Aug. 3.

Trustee Sunday Coward cast the sole dissenting vote in both resolutions. She declined to comment on her votes.

Board president Michael Pomerico told the audience he had spoken with Davis earlier Wednesday and that she is “thrilled” to come back.

“We all look forward to working with her and [moving] this district in the right directions,” he said.

Neither Davis nor Miller attended Wednesday’s meeting.

Davis’ attorney, Edward Heilig, said in an email she “is happy to be returning to a job she covets” and the lawsuit against her will be withdrawn. 

The previous board had sued Davis in February, alleging she 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 denied the allegations in legal documents.

“The board has agreed to dismiss the frivolous Litigation and charges brought against Dr. Davis and she looks forward to working with the new Board in improving the educational environment at Freeport,” Heilig wrote. 

Miller deferred questions to her attorney Heather Palmore, who could not be reached for comment Wednesday night.

Freeport teachers union president Patty Langan thanked the board for bringing back Davis.

“To Dr. Davis, if you are listening, welcome back and welcome home,” she said at the meeting, which was livestreamed.

Davis’ reinstatement is the latest change made by the new board, which includes three members who won a hotly contested election in May.

Tensions have been running high in Freeport since last year, when the board at the time made staffing changes that prompted a student walkout and a rally. In 15 months, the district has had three superintendents and paid two concurrently, frustrating some residents who questioned its cost and lack of stability in leadership.

Pomerico, Gabriela Castillo and Edward Gordon ran for the school board with the support of the Freeport teachers union and they now make up a majority on the five-member board. Pomerico has said he would review personnel appointments and contracts.

Pomerico, who was elected board president earlier this month, was the subject of controversy when Miller called police and alleged he had "poked” her at the July 1 board meeting.

According to a police report that cited Miller's account of what happened, Pomerico had asked Miller for her contract after the meeting concluded.

After Pomerico made his request, Miller turned away to speak to Coward. Officers who reviewed the video footage found Pomerico "lightly touched” Miller’s shoulder and did not appear to have intent to cause alarm and annoyance to Miller by "lightly poking her shoulder,” according to the police report.

No arrest was made and the Nassau County District’s Attorney’s Office determined no criminal conduct occurred.

Pomerico said he immediately apologized and explained that he was trying to regain Miller's attention after she turned away from what he thought was the middle of their conversation.

But the incident sparked outcry from local Black clergy, who called on the district to review the incident, saying they wanted to ensure that every employee, especially women of color, can work without fear of intimidation or disrespect.

Pomerico has described the physical contact as a tap and denied any racial overtones. Miller is Black and Pomerico is white.

Miller has declined to comment on the incident but said in a Facebook video, "On July 1, after a school board meeting, I had to sit with a very hard truth. Leadership does not require me to tolerate disrespect. Absolutely not.”

Palmore previously told Newsday, "The harassment and abuse, intimidation, both verbal and physical of any employee or leader of the district, shouldn't be tolerated in any way. And Dr. Miller has and will continue to exercise those rights.”

Miller has been leading the 6,000-student district on an interim basis since April, after former interim Superintendent Alice Kane left. Kane was brought in last spring after Davis was placed on leave. Miller has been paid a per diem rate of $1,229.

The lawsuit against Davis was filed by attorneys from the Jaspan Schlesinger Narendran LLP law firm in Garden City.

The new board trustees earlier this month voted to terminate the firm's contract and bring back the firm Ingerman Smith, which had represented the district for three decades.