Scandal forces principal to step down

TOWN OF TONAWANDA, N.Y. (WIVB) - Scandal has forced the person in power at a local high school to step down. Police say the principal of Kenmore East stole from her own school, and they have the video tape to prove it.

Students News 4 spoke with, especially athletes, consider it a black eye to them and to the school.

And the one question everyone keeps asking is 'why'?

Like many of her classmates, Samantha Price is proud of her school's competitive reputation. As a senior at Kenmore East High School, she's having a pretty good season on the softball team.

But the only thing people around school are talking about is the reason behind the resignation of Principal LuAnn Ostanski.

Price said, "I think it gives the school a really bad name. Like not only does it embarrass her and the school, but all the other things we do with the school. We walk around and have a Kenmore East jersey on and a lot of the parents turn around and say 'oh that's where the principal got caught stealing money.'"

Police in the Town of Tonawanda tell News 4 the 54-year-old admitted to stealing $160 dollars in cash from a school vault last month, but only after seeing herself caught on tape!

Town of Tonawanda Police Lieutenant Nicholas Bado said, "Images show her opening the drawer and reaching into cash bag."

At first, Ostanski called police to report that the money was missing!

Brian Castine's wife attended Kenmore East and his two children will eventually be students there too.

Castine asked, "Was she always like that? Was she always stealing money?"

News of the principal's confession to stealing five or six times has surprised everyone; not just parents and students in the Kenmore East School District, but in other districts too.

While the news comes as a surprise to many, Buffalo School Board member Ralph Hernandez says people need to remember that no district or field, for that matter, is immune to scandals.

Hernandez said, "Look at how many districts we have across this region, how many employees we have across this region and every once in a while something like this happens."

Price said, "It was kind of a shock. I mean, you hear about a lot of other stuff happening at other schools and you think 'oh, nothing ever happens at our school.'"

Investigators tell News 4 surveillance was set up at the school because of an ongoing theft problem, but they won't tell us who set it up.

The district will only confirm Ostanski resigned as of Tuesday after being on the job since 2002.