The Amagansett School Board issued a notice on Monday that Wayne Gauger, the board’s president, had resigned effective immediately. No reason was provided for the resignation.
The board’s vice president, Addie Slater-Davison, has assumed the position of president and will hold the title until a new president is elected at the board’s July 2026 reorganization meeting.
“The board of education expresses its gratitude and appreciation to Mr. Gauger for his contributions on the school board and his devotion to the Amagansett School community,” the notice stated.
Mr. Gauger, a sergeant in the East Hampton Village Police Department, was re-elected to a three-year term as president of the board in May. A parent of three students at the school, he said at the time that the board was functioning well and he had learned a lot while serving on it. Michael Rodgers, the district superintendent, “has built a great team,” Mr. Gauger said. “We’ve got a lot of positive feedback and momentum, and we’ve got to continue moving forward.”
In an interview with The Star prior to his re-election, Mr. Gauger would not comment on the matter of Maria Dorr, who had been accused of taking an envelope that did not belong to her from the mailroom in December 2023. The school’s principal, she was put on administrative leave early in 2024. In March, more than a year after her suspension, a hearing officer assigned by the New York State Education Department to determine whether disciplinary charges should be brought against Ms. Dorr found her not guilty and ordered the district to reinstate her as principal and expunge the charges from her personnel record.
The school board responded with a statement saying in part that it disagreed with the decision but accepted it, and authorized Mr. Rodgers to take the necessary administrative steps for its implementation.