By: Jennifer Gyropoulos
The school districts of Long Island are drowning in money, as evident in public records indicating that educators retire with pensions ranging higher than $300,000. Four retirees in particular have proven to be lucky recipients, all hailing from the highest-paying area in New York, outside of New York City, according to data collected in 2019 by the Empire Center for Public Policy. The data is currently available for viewing on the website seethroughny.net.
James Feltman used to be a superintendent of Commack Schools. When he retired, the district handed him $327,006 in pension money. He was superintendent from July 1986 to June 2010. Prior to that, Feltman obtained his Ed.D. in Educational Administration from Dowling College.
Sheldon Karnilow was a superintendent of Half Hollow Hills Central School District. Now, he’s enjoying his retirement days with $323,4442 in pension income. In addition to being a superintendent, Karnilow was an adjunct professor at Touro College in New York City, and is now a consultant at S.K. Educational Services in San Jose, California.
Former Syosset Central School District superintendent Carole Hankin spent twenty-three years to get to the point where she could enjoy a $320,548 pension. Hankin is an esteemed educator, having been invited to “… invited to work and speak nationally about the new and serious issues in education and to appear on national television to discuss some of these issues.” According to her LinkedIn page, Dr. Hankin received a doctorate and two masters degrees from Columbia University, as well as a Bachelor of Arts degree from Sarah Lawrence College. She attended seminars at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania; Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration and Yale University Graduate School of management.
A fourth superintendent, James Hunderfund from Commack Schools, and now currently at Malverne Public Schools, receives a $318,081 pension. After collecting his pension, Hunderfund landed the job as Malverne schools superintendent. Records show he earned a salary of $242,349 in 2018 from Malverne, according to Patch. According to LinkedIn, he received his Ed.D. from Columbia University in Educational Administration, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Notre Dame.
