News 12 is learning new information about what may have led to the City of Newburgh police chief’s sudden resignation.

Chief Anthony Giraci left the department on Friday, the same day the Newburgh Enlarged City School District announced he was hired as its new director of safety and security.

Former district School Board President Darren Stridiron tells News 12 he questions the appointment, as do other members of the community.

“They wanted to get this thing done quietly, quickly,” said Stridiron. “I don’t understand what the process was. Was there an interview process? Did this person say they wanted the job and the other person was forced out?”

District Superintendent Jackielyn Campbell-Manning said in a statement shared to Facebook that Giraci was hired after a special Board of Education meeting following a hiring process that “canvassed and interviewed applicants {to find} an individual who had the capacity to collaborate” with executive teams and “implement whole-school programs.”

Several City of Newburgh councilmembers say no one at City Hall knew Geraci was going to leave and Councilman Omari Shakur says the chief was under internal investigation after allegations of creating a hostile work environment, which News 12 unsuccessfully tried to first confirm back in January.

An official source, however, says the probe turned out to be unsubstantiated and that more recently, Geraci was being pushed out by city officials, who changed his shift to include nights on the weekends.

Geraci, like other department heads, have been under a so-called gag order by City Hall for years prohibiting them from speaking directly to the media.

The last time News 12 spoke to the outgoing chief was in 2021, shortly after he was hired, during a string of near-daily shootings. Geraci came to Newburgh from a police department in Watervliet, in the Capital Region.

He was hired by the Newburgh school district for an annual salary of $175,000 per year, according to Board of Education documents online and begins his new role May 6.

The Newburgh school district says several candidates were interviewed after their former head of security resigned in March.

“The district prioritizes safety and security and worked to fill this position immediately, so as not to have a large gap between leadership. The position was posted twice and several rounds of interviews were conducted with input from various stakeholders,” says NECSD communications specialist Cassie Skarlz.

A spokesperson for the city wished Geraci well in his new role and said his service has been appreciated.