Port Jefferson schools to pay $16.5 million to settle sexual abuse claims

The Port Jefferson school district has voted to pay $16.5 million to settle claims by seven people accused of sexual abuse decades ago.

The settlement, which is confidential and was approved Friday night by the board of education, ends litigation against the district brought under the 2019 Child Victims Act, which temporarily lifted the statute of limitations to allow lawsuits over long-standing allegations.

In a statement Friday announcing the news, the district called the settlement “the best outcome for the district and avoids potentially greater impacts to our students and taxpayers.”

“It is important to note that these claims relate to incidents that occurred forty-five years or more ago,” the district said in a statement.

Long Island counties have paid more than $111 million to settle sexual abuse allegations, and hundreds of lawsuits have been filed.

In the Port Jefferson cases, the county was unable to obtain payment from the insurer, so the settlement will be funded through a combination of reserves and bonds issued to raise the money, the statement said.

Outside county spokesman Ron Edelson said a public meeting on Nov. 12 will discuss how the settlement payment will impact taxpayers. His colleague Grace Kwon says the district denies the allegations.

One of the accusers, Michael Selter, told Newsday that he would be afraid to go to school because he never knew when the high school’s then-principal would call him out of class and harass him sexually in darkened areas such as the auditorium, the boiler room or his office.

The plaintiffs’ lawyer, Anna Kull, declined to comment.

Stay tuned for updates on this developing story.

Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.