A disgraced principal who resigned amid a 2004 cheating scandal in The Bronx has resurfaced in a Hamptons school that’s being investigated for a testing irregularity.
Eric Casale, 41, high-tailed it out of PS 91 during a probe into charges that he covered up for a math teacher who gave out test answers on a critical Regents exam.
He abruptly resigned before the probe was completed but somehow landed another principal gig at the tiny Springs Union Free School District in East Hampton just months later.
Now the state Education Department is conducting a fresh probe into testing irregularities at the Springs School.
Sources said the investigation relates to a staffer who offered a student help on a state assessment test and that Casale reported the incident. The probe is ongoing.
The renewed scrutiny brought Casale’s past to light, and astonished Hamptons parents want to know why a scandal-scarred principal was ever hired.
“There are a lot of questions around this right now,” said one stunned PTA member. “A lot of people had no idea that he had this in his past, and the fact that there is some sign of irregularity again is just sort of shocking.”
“How do you hire a guy after he’s involved in something like that?” another parent asked.
Casale, who did not return calls for comment, made $142,000 in 2011, state records show.
In a letter sent to angry parents last month and provided to The Post, Casale defended himself.
“Eight years after leaving behind a nightmarish attempt to destroy my career and my personal reputation, the matter has resurfaced in a manner that feels terribly unfair,” he wrote. “But I truly have nothing to hide, and that’s why it is important for me to share this detail with you.”
Despite his shady past and the fresh allegations at the Springs School, Casale has the backing of his superiors.
“As a board of education, we believe in the integrity of our hiring process,” the district’s Board of Education said in a statement. “The events associated with his employment with the New York City Board of Education were made known to the board before he began his employment at Springs. The record of his past employment in NYC — which in our opinion has been reported in an unfair and out-of-context manner — cannot overwhelm or change our appreciation and respect for his leadership.”
No official disciplinary action was taken against Casale in connection with the Bronx probe, but he has been barred from future employment in the New York City public school system.
The 2005 investigation found that he knew that the teacher “engaged in possible misconduct by assisting fourth-graders with test answers and failed to report the complaint.”