Who is the principal of Fox Lane High School? Head resigns after masking lewd photos involving special needs students

The principal of Fox Lane HS at Westchester County school resigned after reports of him covering up a scandal involving students taking indecent photographs of their special needs peers surfaced. The disturbing episode took place on March 11, 2022.

On June 6, the Bedford Central School District (BCSD) Board of Education hired Kroll, a third-party investigating company, to investigate the response by the Fox Lane High School administration. Following this, a redacted report was released by Kroll on Tuesday, November 30, 2022, divulging unsettling information about the incident.

Fox Lane High School (image via Facebook /@FoxLaneHighSchool, bcsdny.org)

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The Kroll report prompts BCSD to take further action taken against the principal and other Bedford administrators after the Fox Lane HS misdeed

According to the report released on November 30, principal Brett Miller, along with several Bedford administrators, kept the incident under wraps despite two of the four teens confessing to taking lewd pictures in the bathroom and cops being involved.

It was revealed that a student whistleblower alerted school administrators to the "invasion of privacy." Ten days later, two boys confessed. The Kroll report also disclosed the involvement of the remaining pair after their separate investigation.

Miller, the school's assistant principal, the Dignity for All Students Act coordinator, and the Director of Pupil Services (Edward Escobar) were all aware of the confessions. However, they did not discipline the boys or inform the police that the culprits were found.

The Kroll investigation also revealed that despite the confessions, principal Miller told the police that there was "still no evidence" regarding the persons responsible. Furthermore, after being questioned about the progress at a school board meeting several weeks later, he declared that "nobody cracked" during student interviews.

Note: The Dignity for All Students Act (DASA) or "The Dignity Act" is a New York state legislation that aims to provide a school environment that is free of discrimination and harassment.

Fox Lane High School in Bedford (image via Facebook/ @FoxLaneHighSchool

The report highlighted that nobody from the administration "took charge of the investigation" or took responsibility for providing "timely and accurate information" to the investigators. It noted:

"Multiple times during the investigation the information which was provided was incomplete and/or inaccurate which in turn hindered the Superintendent from properly discharging his duties to the Board and the community."

Superintendent Glass called it a "painful moment" for the Fox Lane High School community. He explained that the district will review its DASA training and "rebuild trust all around." Speaking about the report, he remarked:

"The release of this report has opened a wound that had not fully healed following an egregious event."

Eventually, the four students responsible were suspended for five days.

BCSD Superintendent Robert Glass stated that Miller would be employed in the school district through June (end of the school year) but not as the principal. He further added that Miller plans to resign sooner "if he finds other employment." In addition to Miller stepping down, Escobar is currently on leave for the foreseeable future.

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Responses from Fox Lane HS community after the incident

Karen Close, the mother of one of the victims, told CBS News:

"The administrative team was more focused on covering themselves through lies, misdirection, and avoidance than they were on the well-being of the students they claim to always put first."

Close's daughter blamed the student culture for the harassment of her brother, stating that the culprits thought it was "funny" to take and share photos and videos of their "vulnerable classmates."

School board member Gillian Goldman-Kleint said that she believed people had the right to be "outraged" at the "unacceptable" incident.