Amagansett School principal Maria Dorr, accused of taking missing gift card, found not guilty, hearing officer rules

The suspended principal of the Amagansett School — who had faced disciplinary charges alleging she stole a gift card from a co-worker — was found not guilty, according to a decision issued Thursday by a state-designated hearing officer.

Timothy Taylor, who heard testimony from 15 witnesses over the course of seven hearings spanning months last year, sided with Maria Dorr, who was accused of taking the Amazon card after it went missing in December 2023.

In his decision, Taylor wrote that Dorr shall be “immediately reinstated” as the school’s principal and the district must expunge the disciplinary charges from her personnel files.

“The District shall make Dorr whole in all pertinent ways,” he wrote.

Steven A. Goodstadt, an attorney for the district, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday. District officials also could not immediately be reached.

Dorr’s attorney, Arthur Scheuermann, who is general counsel of the School Administrators Association of New York State in upstate Latham, said he expects Dorr to be back on her job Monday.

“Justice was served in this case,” he said. “She feels the weight of the world has been off her shoulders.”

The alleged theft has rocked the small community of Amagansett, where the one-building school district houses 120 students in prekindergarten through sixth grade.

Dorr was never criminally charged and Christina McElroy, the part-time occupational therapist for whom the card was intended, filed a police report but later told the investigating officer that she wanted the case closed.

Check back for updates to this developing story.