Winning Your 3020-a Incompetency Case: NYC DOE Courtenaye Jackson-Chase Says There Are No Facts In Observations

Harvey Elentuck and I have been filing freedom of information requests for many years. His case is a precedent, of course, used by Judges, advocates, and..... Well, that's about it. The Department's case is based upon the fallacy that a subjective standard can be used to judge whatever level of incompetency occurred, when indeed, an objective standard must be used to make that determination.

I don't understand why NYSUT seems not to use the case of Elentuck v Green when defending a teacher going through the process known as 3020-a arbitration:

"MATTER OF ELENTUCK v. GREEN

202 A.D.2d 425 (1994)

608 N.Y.S.2d 701

In the Matter of Harvey M. Elentuck, Appellant, v. Richard R. Green et al., Respondents

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Second Department.

March 7, 1994

Mangano, P. J., Pizzuto, Altman and Krausman, JJ., concur.

Ordered that the order is affirmed insofar as appealed from, with costs.
The petitioner, who is a teacher, sought disclosure, pursuant

[202 A.D.2d 426]

to the Freedom of Information Law (see, Public Officers Law art 6), of various documents related to the termination of his employment, including, inter alia, "all Chancellor's Committee reports, Education Law § 3020-a reports, and `unsatisfactory' lesson observation reports in the possession of Community School District/Board 24". We find that the court properly denied access to all three categories of reports as intra-agency materials which are not statistical or factual tabulations or data, instructions to staff that affect the public, or final agency policy or determinations (see, Public Officers Law § 87 [2] [g]). Chancellor's Committee reports consist of findings and recommendations regarding personnel actions to be taken by the Board of Education. The reports are prepared to assist the Chancellor, and are not binding. Similarly, hearing panel reports relating to Education Law § 3020-a consist of findings and recommendations subject to challenge by an appeal to the State Commissioner of Education, are not binding on either the Board of Education or the Commissioner of Education, and do not constitute final agency determinations. Accordingly, the requested Chancellor's Committee reports and hearing panel reports are predecisional material exempt from disclosure under Public Officers Law § 87 (2) (g) (see, Matter of McAulay v Board of Educ., 61 A.D.2d 1048, affd 48 N.Y.2d 659; Matter of Herald Co. v School Dist., 104 Misc.2d 1041, 1046-1047).
The lesson observation reports consist solely of advice, criticisms, evaluations, and recommendations prepared by the school assistant principal regarding lesson preparation and classroom performance. As such, these reports fall squarely within the protection of Public Officers Law § 87 (2) (g) (see, Matter of Town of Oyster Bay v Williams, 134 A.D.2d 267, 268).
We have reviewed the petitioner's remaining contentions and find them to be without merit."

We at ADVOCATZ always submit this case, as well as the letter NYC DOE General Counsel Courtenaye Jackson-Chase sent Harvey when his request for observations of teachers was denied because observations have no facts in them:

Courtenaye Jackson-Chase

 

 

 

 

 

  

  

 

 

Think the Job Performance of the NYC DOE Chief Officer Dennis Walcott Stinks?

Too bad.

No one who works at Tweed (or City Hall, we hear) has a contract and no one is evaluated. That's how Bloomberg works, and how public money is spent.

Below is the final response to my FOIL for the evaluations of the leaders of our public school system. There are none.

Betsy Combier

From Parentadvocates.org:

Think the Job Performance of the NYC DOE Chief Officer Dennis Walcott Stinks?
Too bad. No one who works at Tweed (or City Hall, we hear) has a contract and no one is evaluated. That's how Bloomberg works, and how public money is spent. From the desk of Betsy Combier, Editor.
          

Mike Bloomberg

Below is the final response to my FOIL for the evaluations of the leaders of our public school system.

There are none.

Betsy Combier

Betsy Combier and Harvey Elentuck File FOIL Requests For DOE Performance Evaluations

My very good friend Harvey Elentuck, the "Elentuck" of the case "Elentuck v Green" in which the New York State Supreme Court and the Appellate Division both told Harvey that there are no facts in observations and observations are not final (so he could not FOIL observation reports), filed a FOIL request for performance evaluations of the DOE "leadership". Judge Cynthia Kern used "Elentuck" in her decision to grant the DOE release of teacher evaluations, and Bob (Freeman) has issued an opinion about Harvey's case. The UFT used "Elentuck v Green" in the Memorandum of Law filed at the First Department Appellate Division (Attorney Charles Moerdler is on the Attorney Departmental Disciplinary Committee for the 1st Dept. and was the Attorney hired to defend Randi Weingarten and me in the Teachers4Action lawsuit filed in 2008 by former Attorney Edward Fagan....evidently Fagan owes Moerdler more than $340,000 in judgments).

I filed a FOIL request as well, but I put in the following paragraph:

"As you know, I have filed a Notice of Claim against Mr. Joseph Baranello, Chief Records Access Officer of the New York City Department of Education, for consistently delaying my FOIL requests beyond the time available by Law, and I have had my 50-H deposition. Any and all delay in receiving the information I request herein will be pursued pursuant to all relevant laws and statutes. I also posted Baranello's Facebook comments on my blog, and I will consider any and all delay in receiving the information I request in this FOIL request or any other as retaliation and unlawful action by a public employee.

Here is my FOIL request for DOE Performance Evaluations:

From: Betsy Combier
Date: Fri, Mar 2, 2012 at 8:45 AM
Subject: Freedom of Information Request For Records
To: FOIL@schools.nyc.gov, Baranello Joseph , Betsy Combier
Cc: FOIL@mail.nysed.gov, MBloomberg@cityhall.nyc.gov, THernandez5@schools.nyc.gov, RJackson@council.nyc.gov, SpeakerQuinn@council.nyc.gov, MBest@schools.nyc.gov, RGreenf@schools.nyc.gov

Records Access Officer
NYC Department of Education
52 Chambers Street, Room 308
New York, NY 10007
By email: FOIL@schools.nyc.gov

Dear Records Access Officer and/or Mr. Joseph Baranello:

Under the provisions of the New York Freedom of Information Law, Article 6 of the Public Officers Law, I hereby request a copy of the following records or portions thereof:

(1) The final performance evaluations of all of the members of the Chancellor’s leadership team for 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011, in the NYC Department of Education, including but not limited to every Deputy Chancellor, as well as the performance evaluation of the Chancellor himself.

Robert Freeman, Chair of the NYS Committee on Open Govt., has written that the performance evaluations of all public employees in NY State are available to the public through FOILs, except for police and correction officers and firefighters.
With respect to the Chancellor, he is the equivalent of a "Superintendent of Schools" and is, therefore, required to be evaluated annually by the Panel for Educational Policy, which is the equivalent of a "Board of Education."

Here is the full statement of §100.2(o)(1)(vi.) of the current Regulations of the Commissioner of Education:

Performance review of superintendent. The governing body of each school district shall annually review the performance of the superintendent of schools according to procedures developed by such body in consultation with the superintendent. Such procedures shall be filed in the district office and available for review by any individual no later than September 10th of each year.

These requested records are not exempt from disclosure under FOIL. To the extent that information contained in the requested records is protected please redact such information and provide me with the remaining information. In the event that all or part of this request is denied, please cite each specific applicable FOIL exemption and notify me of appeal procedures available under the law.

(2) records containing the policies and procedures for conducting the performance evaluations of each member of the Chancellor's Leadership Team (including the Chancellor) for each of the years from 2006 to 2012

(3) Names of the individuals who conduct the evaluations, with titles and years of service in the capacity cited.

To the extent that these records are readily available in an electronic format, we request that they be provided in that format. Please provide responsive records as they are identified, rather than waiting to gather all records. I request to be notified of any fees associated with this request of over $100.00.

The Freedom of Information Law requires agencies to respond within five (5) business days of a records request, therefore I expect a timely reply to my request in compliance with the Law, as well as a timely completion of this request with all documents. My email address is: betsy.combier@gmail.com.

As you know, I have filed a Notice of Claim against Mr. Joseph Baranello, Chief Records Access Officer of the New York City Department of Education, for consistently delaying my FOIL requests beyond the time available by Law, and I have had my 50-H deposition. Any and all delay in receiving the information I request herein will be pursued pursuant to all relevant laws and statutes. I also posted Mr. Baranello's Facebook comments on my blog, and I will consider any and all delay in receiving the information I request in this FOIL request or any other as retaliation and unlawful action by a public employee.

Relevant decisions:

Gould v. NYC Police Department (89 NY2d 267):
Blecher v. NYC Board of Education (NYLJ, 10/25/79).

The Leadership Team to which I refer and the members for whom I request records are:

Leadership Team
Chancellor
Dennis M. Walcott

Senior Advisor to the Chancellor
Courtenaye Jackson-Chase

Chief Operating Officer
Veronica Conforme

Chief Information Officer
Kemi Akinsanya-Rose

Division of Finance
Michael Tragale, Chief Financial Officer

Division of Academics, Performance, and Support
Shael Polakow-Suransky, Chief Academic Officer and Senior Deputy Chancellor
Division of Equity and Access
Dr. Dorita P. Gibson, Deputy Chancellor
Division of Portfolio Planning
Marc Sternberg, Deputy Chancellor

Division of Operations
Kathleen Grimm, Deputy Chancellor

Division of Talent, Labor and Innovation
David A. Weiner, Deputy Chancellor

Division for Students with Disabilities and English Language Learners
Laura Rodriguez, Deputy Chancellor

General Counsel and Legal Services
Michael Best, General Counsel to the Chancellor

Public Affairs
Lenny Speiller, Executive Director

Division of Family and Community Engagement
Jesse Mojica, Executive, Director
Strategic Partnerships
Elizabeth Larson, Managing Director

Thank you for your prompt reply.

Betsy Combier
Editor, Parentadvocates.org
Editor, NYC Rubber Room Reporter
Editor, New York Court Corruption
Editor, National Public Voice

CC:
Hon. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg -- MBloomberg@cityhall.nyc.gov
Hon. PEP Chair Tino Hernandez -- THernandez5@schools.nyc.gov
Hon. City Council Member Robert Jackson -- RJackson@council.nyc.gov
Hon. City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn -- SpeakerQuinn@council.nyc.gov
Michael Best, Esq. -- MBest@schools.nyc.gov
Robin S. Greenfield, Esq. –- RGreenf@schools.nyc.gov

Below is the FOIL I filed to obtain the evaluation of the performance of Joel Klein in 2007:

Sent: Sat 2/17/2007 11:42 PM
To: Holtzman Susan
Cc: Best Michael (Legal Services); MCardozo@law.nyc.gov; Longoria Carragher Arlene; betsy@parentadvocates.org; RFreeman@dos.state.ny.us; JFriedla@law.nyc.gov; AbGolden@law.nyc.gov; Greenfield Robin; CJobinDavis@dos.state.ny.us; Kicinski Christine J; Klein Joel I.; LKoerner@law.nyc.gov; Nathan Judy; Richardson Jacqueline;
Subject: Press FOIL Request from The E-Accountability Foundation
The E-Accountability Foundation

Betsy Combier, President and Campaign Sponsor


VIA E-MAIL

February 17, 2007

Ms. Susan W. Holtzman
Central Records Access Officer
Office of Legal Services
New York City Department of Education
52 Chambers Street
New York, NY 10007

SHoltzm@schools.nyc.gov

Dear Ms. Holtzman:

Under the provisions of the New York Freedom of Information Law, Article 6 of the Public Officers Law, I hereby request to receive E-mailed copies of the following records, or inspect, copy, and receive letters, documents, or any written form with data pertaining to:

1) all written annual professional performance reviews of Chancellor Joel I. Klein that were generated by the Panel for Educational Policy (or any subcommittee thereof) in order to comply with §100.2(o)(2)(v) of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education

2) all formal written procedures for evaluating the Chancellor developed by the Panel for Educational Policy (or the former Board of Education) in consultation with any Chancellor, and which formal written procedures are likely located in the Chancellor's Office, Office of the Secretary of the Panel for Educational Policy (Michael Best), Office of Legal Services, or offices of the individual members of the Panel for Educational Policy

I have quoted the aforementioned regulation below for your convenience:

"Performance review of superintendent. The governing body of each school district shall annually review the performance of the superintendent of schools according to procedures developed by such body in consultation with the superintendent. Such procedures shall be filed in the district office and available for review by any individual no later than September 10th of each year."

If the requested records cannot be E-mailed to me due to the volume of records identified in response to my request, please advise me of the actual cost of copying all records onto a CD or floppy disk.

If my request is too broad or does not reasonably describe the records, please contact me so that I may clarify my request. When appropriate, please inform me of the manner in which the records are filed, retrieved, or generated.

If any record has been redacted or denied, please identify which categories of information have been redacted or denied, and cite the relevant statutory exemption(s).

As you know, the Freedom of Information Law requires that an agency respond to a request within five business days of receipt of a request. Therefore, I would appreciate a response as soon as possible and look forward to hearing from you shortly. If for any reason any portion of my request is denied, please inform me of the reasons for the denial in writing and provide the name, business address, and E-mail address of the person or body to whom an appeal should be directed.
Sincerely,
Betsy Combier
CC:

VIA E-MAIL

Mr. Michael Best
MBest2@schools.nyc.gov

Mr. Michael A. Cardozo
MCardozo@law.nyc.gov

Ms. Arlene Longoria Carragher
ALongor@schools.nyc.gov

The E-Accountability Foundation
betsy@parentadvocates.org

Mr. Robert J. Freeman
RFreeman@dos.state.ny.us

Mr. Jeffrey D. Friedlander
JFriedla@law.nyc.gov

Ms. Abigail Goldenberg
AbGolden@law.nyc.gov

Ms. Robin S. Greenfield
RGreenf@schools.nyc.gov

Ms. Camille S. Jobin-Davis
CJobinDavis@dos.state.ny.us

Ms. Christine J. Kicinski
CKicins@schools.nyc.gov

Chancellor Joel I. Klein
JKlein@schools.nyc.gov

Mr. Leonard Koerner
LKoerner@law.nyc.gov

Ms. Judy Nathan
JNathan@schools.nyc.gov

Ms. Jacqueline Richardson
JRichardson@schools.nyc.gov

The answer from the NYC DOE was: "there is no evaluation done of Chancellor Klein. He works at the pleasure of Mayor Mike Bloomberg."

This is why we have no say on anything that occurs in our city schools.
Betsy Combier

Betsy Combier and Harvey Elentuck File FOIL Requests For DOE Performance Evaluations

My very good friend Harvey Elentuck, the "Elentuck" of the case "Elentuck v Green" in which the New York State Supreme Court and the Appellate Division both told Harvey that there are no facts in observations and observations are not final (so he could not FOIL observation reports), filed a FOIL request for performance evaluations of the DOE "leadership". Judge Cynthia Kern used "Elentuck" in her decision to grant the DOE release of teacher evaluations, and Bob (Freeman) has issued an opinion about Harvey's case. The UFT used "Elentuck v Green" in the Memorandum of Law filed at the First Department Appellate Division (Attorney Charles Moerdler is on the Attorney Departmental Disciplinary Committee for the 1st Dept. and was the Attorney hired to defend Randi Weingarten and me in the Teachers4Action lawsuit filed in 2008 by former Attorney Edward Fagan....evidently Fagan owes Moerdler more than $340,000 in judgments).

I filed a FOIL request as well, but I put in the following paragraph:

"As you know, I have filed a Notice of Claim against Mr. Joseph Baranello, Chief Records Access Officer of the New York City Department of Education, for consistently delaying my FOIL requests beyond the time available by Law, and I have had my 50-H deposition. Any and all delay in receiving the information I request herein will be pursued pursuant to all relevant laws and statutes. I also posted Mr. Baranello's Facebook comments on my blog, and I will consider any and all delay in receiving the information I request in this FOIL request or any other as retaliation and unlawful action by a public employee. Here is the link:

http://nycrubberroomreporter.blogspot.com/2012/02/nyc-department-of-education-attorney.html"

When I filed a FOIL request several years ago for Joel Klein's performance review, the answer from the NYC DOE was: "there is no evaluation done of Chancellor Klein. He works at the pleasure of Mayor Mike Bloomberg."

This is why we have no say on anything that occurs in our city schools.

Betsy Combier

 Here is Harvey's FOIL:

  to:  Joseph A. Baranello, Esq. -- JBaranello3@schools.nyc.gov,  FOIL@schools.nyc.gov

from:  Harvey M. Elentuck -- Harvey400@aol.com,  Harvey_M_Elentuck@alum.mit.edu

 date:  3/6/12

Re:  New FOIL Request F____        

I have seen Leonie Haimson's 2/28/12 FOIL request, which was posted online at Norm Scott's blog, Ed Notes Online:

           

        http://ednotesonline.blogspot.com/2012/02/foil-final-performance-evaluations-all.html

Please be advised that, in my opinion, the records Ms. Haimson has asked for are vitally important, accessible, and should be granted promptly by you without the usual dilatory tactics.

I have attached a copy of the judicial decision in Blecher v. NYC Board of Education (NYLJ, 10/25/79).

Also relevant is Gould v. NYC Police Department (89 NY2d 267):

           

        www.law.cornell.edu/nyctap/I96_0232.htm 

Here is a current listing of the members of the Chancellor's Leadership Team:

           

        http://schools.nyc.gov/AboutUs/leadership/team.htm

Pursuant to the terms and conditions of the New York Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) and the Regulations of the NYS Committee on Open Government, I would like to receive E-mail copies of the following records:

a)  the exact same records requested by Leonie Haimson, namely, "the final performance evaluations of all of the members of the Chancellor’s leadership team for 2009, 2010 and 2011, in the NYC Department of Education, including but not limited to every Deputy Chancellor, as well as the performance evaluation of the Chancellor himself"

           

            (Note:  Ms. Haimson had used the phrase "final performance evaluations."  I consider "final performance evaluations" to include more than just categories as "Does Not Meet" or "Substantially Exceeds," but to also include the descriptive prose that supports the categories.)

b)  analogous records to those requested by Leonie Haimson, but for the years 2006, 2007, and 2008          

c)  records containing the policies and procedures for conducting the performance evaluations of each member of the Chancellor's Leadership Team (including the Chancellor) for each of the years from 2006 to 2012

(Note:  If the policies and procedures were never revised during any of the above years, simply provide the most current version of the record, but so clearly indicate in your determination letter.)

           

Please be advised that the CEO of a school district, whether entitled "Chancellor" or "Superintendent of Schools," must be evaluated annually.

Here is the full statement of §100.2(o)(1)(vi.) of the current Regulations of the Commissioner of Education:

           

Performance review of superintendent.  

The governing body of each school district shall annually review the performance of the superintendent of schools according to procedures developed by such body in consultation with the superintendent.  Such procedures shall be filed in the district office and available for review by any individual no later than September 10th of each year.      

           

        http://www.p12.nysed.gov/part100/pages/1002.html#o

I am attaching two final performance evaluations of (former) Chancellor Rudolph Crew, p. 2, and p. 3,  so that you may see what types of records one of your predecessors saw fit to release.

If you have any questions about this new FOIL request, or would like to meet with me to discuss it, please feel free to E-mail me at either Harvey400@aol.com orHarvey_M_Elentuck@alum.mit.edu.

           

I’ll look forward to hearing from you within five business days of your receipt of this request. 

Thank you for your anticipated cooperation.

cc:

Hon. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg  -- MBloomberg@cityhall.nyc.gov       

Hon. Corporation Counsel Michael A. Cardozo –- MCardozo@law.nyc.gov
Hon. Queens PEP Member Dmytro Fedkowskyj –- pepofqueens@yahoo.com

Hon. Senator John J. Flanagan -- Flanagan@nysenate.gov 
Hon. City Council Member James F. Gennaro -- JGennaro@council.nyc.gov

Hon. PEP Chair Tino Hernandez -- THernandez5@schools.nyc.gov

Hon. City Council Member Robert Jackson -- RJackson@council.nyc.gov

Hon. Senator Carl L. Marcellino -- Marcelli@senate.state.ny.us

Hon. Queens BP Helen M. Marshall -- info@queensbp.org

Hon. Assemblywoman Catherine T. Nolan -- NolanC@assembly.state.ny.us

Hon. City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn -- SpeakerQuinn@council.nyc.gov

Hon. Assemblyman Michael Simanowitz -- SimanowitzM@assembly.state.ny.us

Hon. Senator Malcolm A. Smith -- MASmith@senate.state.ny.us

Hon. Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch -- RegentTisch@mail.nysed.gov

Hon. DOE Chancellor Dennis M. Walcott -- DMWalcott@schools.nyc.gov

Michael Best, Esq. -- MBest@schools.nyc.gov
David M. Brodsky, Esq. –- DBrodsky@schools.nyc.gov

Betsy Combier -- Betsy.Combier@gmail.com
RoseAnn Darche -- RDarche@queensbp.org

Robin S. Greenfield, Esq. –- RGreenf@schools.nyc.gov

Leonie Haimson -- Leonie@att.net

Courtenaye Jackson-Chase, Esq. -- CJackson-Chase@schools.nyc.gov

Ernest Logan -- Ernest@csa-nyc.org

Michael Mulgrew -- MMulgrew@uft.org

Judy Nathan, Esq. -- JNathan@schools.nyc.gov

Norm Scott -- NormSco@gmail.com

Robin F. Singer, Esq. –- RSinger4@schools.nyc.gov
Lenny Speiller –- LSpeiller@schools.nyc.gov

Randi Weingarten, Esq. -- RWeingar@aft.org

Panel for Educational Policy -- panel@schools.nyc.gov
Executive Director NYSCOOG Robert J. Freeman –- RFreeman@dos.state.ny.us
Assistant Director NYSCOOG Camille S. Jobin-Davis –- CJobinDavis@dos.state.ny.us

Media

Lindsey Christ -- Lindsey.Christ@ny1news.com

Philissa Cramer -- PCramer@gothamschools.org 

Anthony M. DeStefano -- Anthony.DeStefano@newsday.com 

Susan Edelman – Susan.Edelman@nypost.com

Yoav Gonen -- Yoav.Gonen@nypost.com 

Elizabeth Green -- EGreen@gothamschools.org

Karen Matthews -- KMatthews@ap.org 

Rachel Monahan -- RMonahan@nydailynews.com 

Anna Phillips -- Anna.Phillips@nytimes.com

Harvey Elentuck Appeals The Denial of His Freedom of Information Request For Dennis Walcott's Performance Evaluation

    to:  Courtenaye Y. Jackson-Chase, Esq.
from:  Harvey M. Elentuck
date:  7/10/13
   re:  FOIL Appeal 8434
        
    Pursuant to the terms and conditions of the New York Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) and the Regulations of the NYS Committee on Open Government, I hereby appeal the denial of access to FOIL Request 8434.

    The request (below) was E-mailed on 3/6/12.

    Joseph A. Baranello, Esq.'s 6/11/13 denial of access is attached.

    I would like to express my concern that Mr. Baranello has been making a general practice of not determining my FOIL requests in a timely manner.  I do not concur with the NYC Department of Education's notion that the issuance of a series of "extension letters" (i.e., the practice of serial extension letters) is a permissible manner of delay, despite the fact that Chancellor's Regulation D-110 VIII(A) has a provision concerning such letters.

    I am calling on you to investigate this delay, and determine what, exactly, Mr. Baranello was working on during the time period between his receipt of my request and his issuance of the decision letter.  I am speculating that other people who filed FOIL requests after I did, received final responses before I did, in situations where Mr. Baranello and other employees of the FOIL Unit found them less distasteful to work on.  In my opinion, Mr. Baranello is an intentional procrastinator, particularly in situations where he and his colleagues have decided that certain FOIL requests are seeking sensitive records or burdensome records.

    In terms of a basis for this appeal, I would venture to guess that all employees and officers of the NYC Department of Education are evaluated on a periodic basis.  Certainly, the Commissioner's Regulations call for yearly evaluation of a school superintendent.  The Chancellor obviously holds a job that, in the 1960s and prior, was entitled, "Superintendent of Schools."  It's obviously vitally important that the Chancellor be evaluated yearly.  Even the former Board of Education recognized the importance of this.  So, why wouldn't the Panel for Educational Policy be preparing written annual evaluations of the Chancellor and have written procedures on the books as to how such evaluations are to be conducted?

    Concerning the other members of the Chancellor's Leadership Team, I have no personal knowledge of whether there are any rules, regulations, or policies in place calling for periodic written performance evaluations to be issued.

    I can only generally comment that if teachers, guidance counselors, and school supervisors receive yearly written evaluations, then I can't think of any good reason(s) why the members of the Chancellor's Leadership Team wouldn't, also.

I will look forward to hearing from you within ten business days of receipt.

cc:

Hon. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg -- MBloomberg@cityhall.nyc.gov
Hon. Corporation Counsel Michael A. Cardozo –- MCardozo@law.nyc.gov
Hon. Queens PEP Member Dmytro Fedkowskyj –- pepofqueens@yahoo.com

Hon. PEP Chair Tino Hernandez -- THernandez5@schools.nyc.gov

Hon. City Council Member Robert Jackson -- RJackson@council.nyc.gov

Hon. DOE Chancellor Dennis M. Walcott -- DMWalcott@schools.nyc.gov
Joseph A. Baranello, Esq. -- JBaranello3@schools.nyc.gov
Robin S. Greenfield, Esq. -- RGreenf@schools.nyc.gov
Executive Director NYSCOOG Robert J. Freeman –- RFreeman@dos.state.ny.us
Assistant Director NYSCOOG Camille S. Jobin-Davis –- CJobinDavis@dos.state.ny.us
Panel for Educational Policy -- panel@schools.nyc.gov
Betsy Combier -- Betsy.Combier@gmail.com

    to:  Joseph A. Baranello, Esq. -- JBaranello3@schools.nyc.gov,  FOIL@schools.nyc.gov

from:  Harvey M. Elentuck -- Harvey400@aol.com,  Harvey_M_Elentuck@alum.mit.edu

 date:  3/6/12

Re:  New FOIL Request F____        

I have attached a copy of the judicial decision in Blecher v. NYC Board of Education (NYLJ, 10/25/79).

Also relevant is Gould v. NYC Police Department (89 NY2d 267):

           

        www.law.cornell.edu/nyctap/I96_0232.htm 

Here is a current listing of the members of the Chancellor's Leadership Team:

           

        http://schools.nyc.gov/AboutUs/leadership/team.htm

Pursuant to the terms and conditions of the New York Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) and the Regulations of the NYS Committee on Open Government, I would like to receive E-mail copies of the following records:

a)  "the final performance evaluations of all of the members of the Chancellor’s leadership team for 2009, 2010 and 2011, in the NYC Department of Education, including but not limited to every Deputy Chancellor, as well as the performance evaluation of the Chancellor himself"

 

b)  analogous records for the years 2006, 2007, and 2008          

c)  records containing the policies and procedures for conducting the performance evaluations of each member of the Chancellor's Leadership Team (including the Chancellor) for each of the years from 2006 to 2012

(Note:  If the policies and procedures were never revised during any of the above years, simply provide the most current version of the record, but so clearly indicate in your determination letter.)

           

 Please be advised that the CEO of a school district, whether entitled "Chancellor" or "Superintendent of Schools," must be evaluated annually.

Here is the full statement of §100.2(o)(1)(vi.) of the current Regulations of the Commissioner of Education:

      

Performance review of superintendent.  

The governing body of each school district shall annually review the performance of the superintendent of schools according to procedures developed by such body in consultation with the superintendent.  Such procedures shall be filed in the district office and available for review

by any individual no later than September 10th of each year.  

   

        http://www.p12.nysed.gov/part100/pages/1002.html#o

 I am attaching two final performance evaluations of (former) Chancellor Rudolph Crew so that you may see what types of records one of your predecessors saw fit to release.

If you have any questions about this new FOIL request, or would like to meet with me to discuss it, please feel free to E-mail me at eitherHarvey400@aol.com or Harvey_M_Elentuck@alum.mit.edu.

           

I’ll look forward to hearing from you within five business days of your receipt of this request. 

Thank you for your anticipated cooperation.

cc:

Hon. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg  -- MBloomberg@cityhall.nyc.gov       

Hon. Corporation Counsel Michael A. Cardozo –- MCardozo@law.nyc.gov
Hon. Queens PEP Member Dmytro Fedkowskyj –- pepofqueens@yahoo.com

Hon. Senator John J. Flanagan -- Flanagan@nysenate.gov 
Hon. City Council Member James F. Gennaro -- JGennaro@council.nyc.gov

Hon. PEP Chair Tino Hernandez -- THernandez5@schools.nyc.gov

Hon. City Council Member Robert Jackson -- RJackson@council.nyc.gov

Hon. Senator Carl L. Marcellino -- Marcelli@senate.state.ny.us

Hon. Queens BP Helen M. Marshall -- info@queensbp.org

Hon. Assemblywoman Catherine T. Nolan -- NolanC@assembly.state.ny.us

Hon. City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn -- SpeakerQuinn@council.nyc.gov

Hon. Assemblyman Michael Simanowitz -- SimanowitzM@assembly.state.ny.us

Hon. Senator Malcolm A. Smith -- MASmith@senate.state.ny.us

Hon. Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch -- RegentTisch@mail.nysed.gov

Hon. DOE Chancellor Dennis M. Walcott -- DMWalcott@schools.nyc.gov

Michael Best, Esq. -- MBest@schools.nyc.gov
David M. Brodsky, Esq. –- DBrodsky@schools.nyc.gov

Betsy Combier -- Betsy.Combier@gmail.com
RoseAnn Darche -- RDarche@queensbp.org

Robin S. Greenfield, Esq. –- RGreenf@schools.nyc.gov

Leonie Haimson -- Leonie@att.net

Courtenaye Jackson-Chase, Esq. -- CJackson-Chase@schools.nyc.gov

Ernest Logan -- Ernest@csa-nyc.org

Michael Mulgrew -- MMulgrew@uft.org

Judy Nathan, Esq. -- JNathan@schools.nyc.gov

Norm Scott -- NormSco@gmail.com

Robin F. Singer, Esq. –- RSinger4@schools.nyc.gov
Lenny Speiller –- LSpeiller@schools.nyc.gov

Randi Weingarten, Esq. -- RWeingar@aft.org

Panel for Educational Policy -- panel@schools.nyc.gov
Executive Director NYSCOOG Robert J. Freeman –- RFreeman@dos.state.ny.us
Assistant Director NYSCOOG Camille S. Jobin-Davis –- CJobinDavis@dos.state.ny.us

Media

Lindsey Christ -- Lindsey.Christ@ny1news.com

Philissa Cramer -- PCramer@gothamschools.org 

Anthony M. DeStefano -- Anthony.DeStefano@newsday.com 

Susan Edelman – Susan.Edelman@nypost.com

Yoav Gonen -- Yoav.Gonen@nypost.com 

Elizabeth Green -- EGreen@gothamschools.org

Karen Matthews -- KMatthews@ap.org 

Rachel Monahan -- RMonahan@nydailynews.com 

Anna Phillips -- Anna.Phillips@nytimes.com

Betsy Combier and Harvey Elentuck File FOIL Requests For DOE Performance Evaluations