NYS ditches its own Native American logo rules in secret ‘backroom deal’ with LI school

New York ditched its own rules banning Native American logos in public schools to try to reach a secret deal with one Long Island district, documents obtained by The Post show.

Critics are now blasting the “backroom deal” to rebrand the Connetquot Thunderbirds to the shortened “T-Birds” — a name the state previously said was included in the ban — as New York and local officials have kept the deal hidden from public.

“You don’t even tell the community that this agreement exists, and you’re just going to make a decision and represent them?” Connetquot board member Jacquelyn DiLorenzo fumed to The Post, blasting her colleagues as “very corrupt.”

Connetquot had sued New York to keep its Thunderbirds team name after the Board of Regents enacted the ban on Native American-themed logos and sports team names in 2023.

But while the school was supposedly digging in on the fight against the rebrand it claimed would cost $23 million it quietly was beginning negotiations with the state for a compromise.

The Suffolk district and the state have been negotiating to adopt the long-used abbreviation T-Birds — even though the Empire State had previously said the shortened name was also banned.

“We have confirmed that [State Education Department] considers…’Thunderbirds’ or ‘T-Birds’ to both be impermissible,”‘ New York assistant attorney general Helena Lynch wrote to Connetquot’s legal team on May 30.

It was also the same day federal Education Secretary Linda McMahon announced at nearby Massapequa High School, home of the Chiefs, that bans targeting just one ethnic group were a civil rights violation.

Soon after, the district’s legal counsel wrote in an email officials “negotiated an agreement with the state to allow the T-Birds name” on the condition it wasn’t connected to any Native American imagery.

Connetquot’s mascot is a soaring bird made of red, black, white and gold.

“I am confident we can make this work. The State seems motivated to resolve it and I do not think they will be looking to prove a connection,” the attorney added.

A proposed settlement stated that T-Birds suddenly became “permissible” by New York on June 18.

The state Department of Education and Connetquot schools haven’t responded to requests for comment.

Meanwhile, the argument in Connetquot’s initial lawsuit to keep Thunderbirds had labeled the two monikers as being directly correlated.

“Over the years, the ‘Thunderbirds’ name also morphed into the popular nickname: ‘T-Birds,’” the district’s lawyers wrote in 2024 court papers.

DiLorenzo blasted such hypocrisy and lack of community input into the deal at a public July meeting.

There, she cited multiple surveys showing 60% wanted to continue the legal battle for Thunderbirds — and said other board members were acting “to serve personal and self-interested agendas.”

The state ban can result in the dismissal of board members at non-compliant schools.

“I definitely think that they are being intimidated,” DiLorenzo said of her colleagues.

McMahon launched an investigation into Connetquot over removing Thunderbirds in July, and recently doubled down on the stance.

She said “it is a top priority” of the Trump administration to keep the name and that of other teams, such as the Chiefs, in a statement to The Post last week.

The pro-Trump Native American Guardians Association sent a letter to Connetquot on Monday, writing that removing the “far from being derogatory” logo “would also commit the district to false and discriminatory representations about Native American culture.”

Out of sight, out of mind

Emails from Connetquot’s Board President, Marissol Mallon, show efforts to keep mascot talks extremely internal since mid-April.

“I am told that we can decide through this email thread what option we want to pursue,” she wrote to the board.

Mallon added that electronic correspondence would suffice over “a special meeting” when members were away and school was closed. She typed that the district’s legal team “told me it could be done this way.”

“I never once opined to you about deliberating with the Board in an email thread,” Connetquot’s lawyer replied.

Jaclyn Napolitano-Furno, who served on the board for years until this July, bashed the hushed approach.

“This is not the way to do a controversial topic vote to take action,” replied Napolitano-Furno, who later called talks with New York a “backroom deal” at an August board meeting.

After voices like DiLorenzo and Napolitano-Furno spoke out, the board agreed to a public forum to discuss the issue on Thursday.

Still, the former board member says ignoring McMahon’s Title VI probe and entertaining a deal with the state is “essentially saying F- U to the President of the United States.”