A contentious situation reached a happy conclusion August 29 as the Rye City School District Board of Education passed a settlement agreement with Milton School fourth grade teacher Dana Coppola.

By Sarah Varney

A contentious situation reached a happy conclusion August 29 as the Rye City School District Board of Education passed a settlement agreement with Milton School fourth grade teacher Dana Coppola.

Under the terms of the agreement, a copy of which was obtained by the paper under the Freedom of Information Act, Coppola agreed to pay an $18,000 fine via regular payroll deductions over 72 months. Her annual salary is $120,000. She also agreed to withdraw from the lawsuit filed by Carin Mehler in March 2013 against the District and a suit against hearing officer Dennis Capagna.

Campagna was forced to recuse himself from presiding over Coppola’s disciplinary hearing after her Attorney Arthur Schwartz named him in a suit claiming that the process had dragged on for too long.

Coppola began teaching first grade last week and she will return to third grade teaching duties in 2015. Rye City School District officials and board members declined to comment on the agreement. “We reached an amicable settlement. She’s happy; I’m happy, and the Milton School kids and parents will be happy as the school year begins.”

Carin Mehler is now the sole teacher on administrative reassignment. Her lawsuit is scheduled to continue until at least mid-September.