LI Student Arrested For Going To School While Suspended: District

MASTIC BEACH, NY — A William Floyd High School senior who was suspended Tuesday for trying to attend classes in-person against the district's coronavirus protocols was arrested Thursday when he again tried to enter the high school, police and school officials said.

The student, Maverick Stow, 17, was cited with a criminal trespassing notice on Wednesday.

According to Suffolk County police, the 17-year-old student was charged with third-degree criminal trespassing for entering school grounds after he was notified by school officials he was suspended and barred from campus.

School officials contacted Suffolk County police when Stow arrived at school at 7:10 a.m. He will be issued a desk appearance ticket and scheduled for arraignment at a later date, police said.

Stow confirmed to Patch he was arrested and charged.

James Montalto, spokesman for the William Floyd School District, said in a statement: "As a district, our primary focus aside from providing a high-quality education, is to provide a safe learning environment for students and staff. Any attempt by a student who has been suspended or any other unauthorized person trying to enter school grounds is taken extremely seriously and will be met with the most severe consequences. School safety is a top priority especially in this day and age."

He added: "Mr. Stow continues to display irresponsible and selfish behavior with today’s latest publicity stunt. He arrived wearing a neon green shirt — for high visibility — with a contingent of media just outside the fence line trying to capture him getting arrested as he entered the building."

Stow, Montalto said, entered the building and was immediately arrested by the Suffolk County Police Department without incident and transported to the police station.

"As a result, if Mr. Stow continues to try to access school grounds each day that we are open, we will close the high school — and its approximately 3,000 students — to all in-person learning and it will be all virtual for the foreseeable future," Montalto said.

The district said in a statement it will abide by the regulations set in place by government and health officials designed to keep students and staff safe from the spread of the coronavirus.

"As we have said, Mr. Stow’s rights as a student do not surpass the rights of any of our other 8,799 students; they should not have to come to school to witness this circus atmosphere each day," the statement said. "Most of our in-person classes at the high school are at maximum capacity according to the square footage of each classroom. It is just not possible to have all of our students back under the current social distancing regulations. We will not condone or allow students to flagrantly break the law in our schools."

Stow, a senior who was suspended Tuesday for trying to attend classes in-person against the district's coronavirus protocols, was cited with a criminal trespassing notice Wednesday.

Stow said he went back to the high school Wednesday morning and was given the criminal trespass notice by school officials. The notice, written to Stow's parents, said, "Your child is hereby warned that on the next occasion he is found illegally on any William Floyd School District property, the police will be notified and he will be prosecuted for third degree criminal trespass."

The notice was signed by Lisa Paschitti, assistant principal of the high school.

Stow also said police were present "but they were not able to make an arrest because I didn't get the notice until this morning."

Stow said he set out Tuesday morning to the first day of his senior year and was suspended because he tried to attend in-person instruction rather than participate in virtual learning as his schedule required. A school official said Stow's actions were disruptive as the school tries to adhere the state's social distancing guidelines.

"You have to take the consequences for standing up for what you believe in," said Stow, who lives in Mastic Beach.

Stow said he took the bus to school, where staff performed the mandated temperature check under coronavirus protocols. He then proceeded to class.

"It wasn't my day to go to school but obviously, I disagreed, so I went into class," he said. "I wasn't on the roster so the assistant principal got involved."

Stow was called into Principal Philip Scotto's office, where he said he was told he needed to vacate the grounds. Stow said Scotto told him that the district needed to adhere to guidelines, which meant he had to leave.

"I refused," Stow said. Scotto then told him that if he did not leave as directed, he would be suspended for insubordination.

"I left his office and went back to class," Stow said. He said he attended his complete schedule of classes. At the end of the day, he was contacted by his mother, Nora Kaplan-Stow.

"My parents are fully supportive of this," he said. "She told me I had been suspended for five days and the district was taking disciplinary action for insubordination."

"Kids need to be in school every day. Virtual learning is not learning," Nora Kaplan-Stow told ABC 7. "My son is being suspended because he wants to be in school."

Stow said he made the decision to attend classes as soon as the district announced they would be following a hybrid model of in-person and remote learning.

"I didn't think it was acceptable," he said. "I figured I would go to school and it would be a 'them' problem, to figure it out."

On the first day of class, Stow said, "I didn't know what was going to happen this morning. I thought I might get carried out the front door by security guards."

Stow believes the district claims there were "opportunities for us to sit and peacefully discuss this, to talk to them about the reopening plan, but there weren't. They made this decision on their own and kept us out of the whole decision-making process."

"It was a 'them' decision," he said. "We were never given the opportunity to voice our opinions. At a certain point, you have to take a stand and make it so they can't ignore you anymore."

The district laid out its reopening plans on its website and held virtual briefings where individuals could submit questions in advance.

Stow said he, like many other students, saw their dreams derailed when the coronavirus shuttered schools last spring.

A member of the Future Business Leaders of America, Stow said he was scheduled to attend a national competition in Salt Lake City, Utah, but the event was canceled. In addition, as a member of the virtual enterprise program, he was meant to attend a trade show in Brooklyn, New York, with 15,000 students from virtual enterprise firms worldwide. That event, too, never took place.

"Last year, a lot was taken away," Stow said.

This year, due to the pandemic, the district is not offering sports or extracurricular activities, Stow said. "Our tax dollars go to those programs. Where is that money going if we don't have sports or extra-curricular activities?"

Of Tuesday's suspension, Stow said: "The district seems to think students peacefully speaking their minds and making their voices heard is an unacceptable practice that seems to be disciplined quite harshly."

He said he realized showing up for classes was a "pretty extreme measure that requires a certain amount of risk."

Stow said he has a message for fellow students, the school district and community. "Anyone who believes that education is valuable should want students to be in school five days a week, with extracurricular and sports activities to go along with it. Anyone who feels as strongly as I do about this should participate and make it so the administration can't ignore it any longer."