The case of a missing $25 Amazon gift card at an elite Hampton’s school has turned into a whodunnit with the principal at the center of it all.
Maria Dorr, a longtime principal at The Amagansett Elementary School has been accused of stealing another co-workers Christmas gift and has since been suspended.
Dorr vehemently denied the allegations but was removed from the district, known in New York State education law as a 3020a-inquiry for cases involving tenured teachers, and was placed on paid administrative leave in January 2024.
She told The East Hampton Star months after the ordeal that she ‘was in shock,’ that security and teachers looked through camera footage and ‘saw me with a red card.’
The outlandish case prompted a disciplinary trial of 1,400 pages of testimony from more than a dozen witnesses to identify the card caper, and an arbitrator, whose fees have accrued to more than $25,000 – 1,000 times the value of the missing card, as per The Wall Street Journal.
The ordeal had become so nonsensical that the giftee asked the local police to stop investigating.
Arthur Scheuermann, the attorney representing Principal Dorr told DailyMail.com on Friday that they are ‘waiting for a decision’ and it would be ‘imminently,’ but was unable to provide more details about the case.
The Amagansett Union Free School located on Main Street is located in the town of East Hampton and is the hamlet’s largest employer with an $11 million budget.
The school starts at prekindergarten through sixth grade and has 110 students in the enclave where house prices average around $3million.
The incident first took place December 15, 2023 days before school would break for winter recess and the Christmas holiday.
One of the parents handed longtime school receptionist, Cassie Butts two red envelopes containing gift cards. One was given to Butts, and the other to the school’s therapist, Chrissy McElroy.
Butts claimed during testimony that she placed McElroy’s card into her mailbox. Later that day when McElroy when to check her mailbox there was no red envelope in sight.
When Butts told the principal about the missing envelope, Butt said in her testimony that she was told by Dorr to keep quiet, as to prevent the police or any lawyers from getting involved, as per the WSJ.
It wasn’t until December 19, 2023 – four days after the gifts were received – when Dorr first learned of about the allegations against her by school clerk Sandra Nuzzi, who testified during the November 2024 trial.
Dorr requested to have a public trial.
Steven Goodstadt, a lawyer representing the school district presented timestamped camera footage that showed the outside of the mailroom.
At 8.24.17am, Butts is seen entering the mailroom with a red envelope and leaving seven seconds later with her hands empty.
At 8:37am, Dorr emerges and leaves with a stack of papers, including a red envelope.
‘It is obvious that Maria Dorr was hoping this would die down because she knew that her sticky fingers would have been caught,’ Goodstadt said, in part.
As part of evidence, he also showed a photo of the cubbies in the mailroom inside the school.
During the testimony, she further denied taking the envelope when she was asked by a second school official.
On Tuesday, Richard Loeschner, Amagansett’s interim superintendent, reviewed the video footage and began his inquiry speaking to teachers.
During his testimony, he claimed that he ‘did the investigation,’ and said, ‘there is no other explanation as to where that gift card went.’
In her defense, Dorr said she was gifted a $50 gift card from a local gas station that was placed in a red envelope in her mailbox. She believed the recipient was the same family that had given her the same gift months prior.
When Butts told her there was a card missing, Dorr believed the card would turn up and advised her colleague not to sound the alarms.
She testified, ‘it’s a school. Things go missing all the time.’
When Loeschner told Dorr that many of the teachers did not trust her, Dorr felt as if she was being targeted.
Dorr believed Butts was spreading rumors about her. When she found the red envelope that contained the gas station card at her recycling bin at home, she presented it to Loeschner, but he dismissed it since the envelope wasn’t signed.
He than pressured her to resign.
In the testimony, Dorr’s lawyer called Butts ‘a known liar’ and speculated that the missing gift card was a setup to kill Dorr’s candidacy for superintendent, the Journal reported.
‘Cassie has a tendency to embellish things or not tell the truth on many occasions,’ a school district official testified in the gift card trial.
Last February, Butts retired, but had been counseled in 2019 for making exaggerated claims against the then-superintendent, as per the news outlet.
Mike Rodgers, a gym teacher and volunteer firefighter, became the new superintendent instead of Dorr.
Dorr has been acting principal since 2015 and has received exemplary reviews.
A former superintendent, said in part, that Dorr is ‘a role model for the highest of ethical standards in her work and interactions with others.’
Under Rodgers’ leadership, many residents and teachers have since reported a ‘toxic’ environment at the school.
Attorney Steven Goodstad did not respond to DailyMail.com request for comment.