Dear Schechter Community,
Yesterday, upon his surrender for arraignment to the Office of the Suffolk County District Attorney, David Ostrove has been terminated from his employment with the school. This action is the result of a lengthy and wide-ranging investigation by the Suffolk County District Attorney into financial irregularities for which Mr. Ostrove was allegedly responsible.
When notified of their probe, the school gave its full cooperation to the investigation. We thank the detectives, auditors, staff, Assistant District Attorney, and District Attorney who treated the school with the utmost respect and professionalism. As you can appreciate, we cannot say more about this situation at the present time as it is now a matter before the criminal justice system.
We can say that the Schechter School of Long Island is financially sound, has always met and will continue to meet its fiscal responsibilities, and is looking forward to welcoming our growing student body back in September for the start of 2022-2023 academic year. Moreover, in response to the serious issues raised by the investigation, the school has revamped its internal financial operations and has brought in a credentialed outside accounting firm with a specialty in schools to assist us through this transition, ensuring that our changes are effective, systematic, and reflect “best practices” in a digital era. The school and its future will be better protected by this new model with improved reporting, oversight, and accuracy.
The Schechter School of Long Island has met this unprecedented challenge head-on. Ultimately, it will be a stronger institution, both operationally and financially. We welcome your questions.
Dr. Scott Sokol, Head of School
Bram Weber, President, Board of Trustees
Jeffrey Shlefstein, President-elect, Board of Trustees