The Bay Shore School District authorized the issuance of $20.25 million to five former students who claim the school district did not do enough to prevent former teacher Thomas Bernagozzi from sexually abusing them.
The board of education originally approved the settlement agreements on Aug. 21 for the five uninsured claims brought against the Bay Shore School District under the Child Victims Act. The final authorization was voted on unanimously during an Oct. 1 meeting of the board of education.
According to a letter written by superintendent Steven Maloney and sent to the Bay Shore community on Sept. 26, all parties are bound by confidentiality clauses under the terms of the five settlements. These clauses prevent the district from providing detailed information about the cases and settlements.
During the Oct. 1 meeting, Maloney gave a brief comment, but reiterated that he would be unable to give additional comments or answer questions due to pending and ongoing litigation regarding the remaining Child Victims Act cases.
“The board of education is committed to fulfilling the district’s legal obligations in a manner that maintains our students’ academic and extracurricular opportunities, while minimizing the financial impact on our residents,” said Maloney.
Attorney Andrew Silvershein, who represents most of the 45 former students, is at liberty to speak.
“For these five, unfortunately, there is no check and no amount of money to instantly take away the memories of what happened to them. The hope is that this type of compensation, this type of settlement, will represent some sort of a measure of justice for them and allow them to at least close this chapter of their life and continue to heal through this,” said Silvershein. “It is an important step for them, and I am hoping we can reach a similar conclusion in the rest of the pending cases as well.”
Bernagozzi, a retired Bay Shore third-grade teacher, was arrested on Dec. 21, 2023, and charged with one count of sexual conduct against a child in the first degree and one count of sodomy in the first degree for allegedly sexually abusing students under his care.
Between the years of 1970 and 2000, the 76-year-old Babylon resident worked as a third-grade teacher at Gardiner Manor Elementary School and Mary G. Clarkson Elementary School.
Under the Child Victims Act, 45 individual victims filed lawsuits against both the Bay Shore Union Free School District and Bernagozzi for Bernagozzi’s alleged sexual abuse, citing that the district did not do enough to prevent the abuse.
The New York State Child Victims Act allows any victim who was abused while under the age of 18 to file a civil action up until that person turns 55 years of age. With the passage of this law, a “look-back” window was opened between Aug. 14, 2019, and Aug. 13, 2021, allowing victims who would not benefit from the new law going forward to file their civil claims from years past. Before the Child Victims Act, a victim could not file a claim after they turned 23 years old.
Bernagozzi was also arrested this June for multiple counts of possessing a sexual performance by a child, for allegedly possessing five images of a former minor student with his genitals exposed. The photos, found by members of the Suffolk County Police Department, were allegedly taken from inside Bernagozzi’s bedroom. It is alleged that the child victim was approximately 8 years old when the five images were taken.
The Bay Shore district still faces 38 lawsuits with similar allegations.
Two of the claims covered by insurance were settled earlier this year, though according to the board, most of the claims are uninsured.
During a board of education meeting on April 17, board of education president Jennifer Brownyard read a statement on behalf of the board and administration regarding a claim covered by insurance.
“Though this particular case was covered by insurance and resolved with insurance funds, the majority of the other Child Victims Act cases against the district have no available insurance at this time,” said Brownyard.
Bernagozzi continues to plead not guilty.
Jury selection for Bernagozzi’s first trial will begin on Oct. 21.