After 17 years as the principal of PS 49, Anthony Lombardi has decided it is time to step down.
According to Lombardi, his decision came one month prior to the surfacing of sexual harassment allegations by former PS 49 special education instructor Lisa Calise.
It has been reported that Calise was asked to step down in early 2010 after refuting multiple sexual advances by Lombardi, but he claims that her dismissal was related to other “behavior” related issues.
“Rather than pursuing a discontinuance, we worked out a resignation based on performance and other issues,” Lombardi said of the teacher. “This case is a result of a dismissal.”
Lombardi claims he has letters from previous principals who had issues with the former teacher, something he is confident will vindicate him.
Despite the controversial timing of his departure, Lombardi hopes that his successor will continue on the legacy of progress and improvement that has been credited to his leadership of the school.
There were just 440 students enrolled when Lombardi first took over at P.S. 49, located at 63-60 80th St., in 1997, and today the school has over 1,100 students, 99 employees including 84 educators on staff, a number of which say the school’s growth is thanks to his vision for professionalism and work ethic.
Part of the success, Lombardi says, was the ability for him to create his own staff following the action he helped initiate with former School’s Chancellor Joel Klein.
Under the reform set in place back in 2007, principals were granted the freedom of routine supervision under contract with the Department of Education, holding them accountable for their actions and progress.
“There was no flexibility before,” he said.
Today the Middle Village school has a comprehensive music program, a full-time music teacher, a choral room and a music lesson partnership with weekend help from the Long Island City Academy of Music.
“We have complete transparency with the parent body, and they can come in whenever they want,” Lombardi explained of the way he runs his “bus,” as he puts it. “We’ve made a good community school.”
Art teacher Susan Bricker said Lombardi was a big part of the reason why she decided to become a teacher.
“One thing that makes this school unique is the level of professionalism of the staff,” Bricker said. “We end up having a really great team atmosphere because we’re on the same page.”
