NYSUT Attorney Claude Hersh: "Trust Us"

Last week, NYSUT Associate Director Claude Hersh is still at it, telling people that whoever opposes the determination of probable cause by a Superintendent or principal  "doesn't know what he/she is doing...Trust us[NYSUT]". Thanks so much, Claude, for continuing to validate what NYSUT, not me, is doing wrong. And, you have never answered my question: what am I doing that I dont know what I am doing?"

Many UFT members who are going or have gone to 3020-a arbitration know that I sat in hearings as a member of the public (when the Respondents asked me to be there, and had an open and public hearing) from about 2004-2011. I took notes on everything said, and educated myself on what the Attorneys did, as well as who the arbitrators were, both as people and as "judges" in this random process. Now I am a paralegal at 3020-a and, with the Attorney also hired, am part of the legal team and thus intricately involved in all aspects of the process.If an innocent person is being charged with anything that is false, this legal team will "play hardball" in a professional, nice, warm and fuzzy way.

Leroy Barr, Judy Gerowitz, Bill Di Blasio

People who now contact me to work on their cases as a paralegal know that one of the biggest issues which the current NYSUT/DOE partnership tries to ignore is the improper determination of probable cause by a Superintendent and/or principal. Everyone who receives charges gets a packet of documents which have been created either by an Attorney at the ATU Gotcha Squad or the TPU Gotcha Squad. The first, ATU, does the frame up for the DOE to find a person who is charged with misconduct of some kind, and the second Gotcha Squad, TPU,  frames people according to the lie that he or she is incompetent. The ATU Gotcha Squad is under the direction of Laura Brantley, and the TPU Gotcha Squad's Director is Naeemah Lamont and her sidekick Dennis Da Costa.

The papers in the charging packet are built upon the TAC memos which are created by these teams to produce "proof" of guilt on the part of the future 3020-s Respondent. Papers are removed and/or stuck inside the personnel file to create what the Gotcha Squad attorneys hope will be a foregone conclusion, that the Respondent is terminated, removed, gone from payroll or, even better, paying a "fine" for something the member didnt do.

Back to NYSUT. Claude and his allies at the 3020-a never bring up the conflict between Education Law Section 3020-a(2)(a), which states that probable cause must be determined by a vote of the school board in Executive Session, and Ed Law Section 2590-j(7) which says that a Superintendent and/or a principal can pass the determination of probable cause around like a football. I dont think so.
Im willing to be shut up, just prove to me, Claude, that 2590-j trumps 3020-a and there is no conflict, (and I'll still insist that the 3020-a process in NYC is a mess, and NYSUT does not help members by not addressing this issue).


3020-a arbitration (Taylor Law) is compulsory and guarantees that tenured teachers may not be disciplined without a hearing unless Respondent intentionally waives his/her rights to such a hearing.
The requirement to arbitrate arises through a statutory mandate, thus the arbitrator's actions are subject to judicial scrutiny under CPLR §7511. Without a proper determination of probable cause the Arbitrator does not have subject matter jurisdiction and cannot rule on the charges nor proceed.

New York City tenured personnel are not carved out of the protections given under §3030-a, although this is a common argument of the Department, who often cites Section 2590-h(19) and (38) as controlling law on the issue of a vote on probable cause as well as on the delegation of the powers of the employing board ("chancellor"). These clauses give powers to Community Education Councils but not a vote on probable cause, for 3020-a hearings, according to their duties and responsibilities on their website:

http://www.learndoe.org/face/files/2012/10/CCEC-ROLES-AND-RESPONSIBILITIES-webinar.pdf

In fact, CECs have "no administrative or executive function". While there is a reference to 3020-a, there in fact is no specific role or responsibility which the CECs have to charge, find, or impact the charges filed under 3020-a after a vote in Executive Session.

Either the state legislature neglected to make certain that the vote on probable cause by a school board was included in the CEC Roles and Responsibilities, or the omission of the board's responsibility under 3020-a(2)(a) was deliberate, and the state legislature did not intend for the CEC members to vote on probable cause in an Executive Session on 3020-a charges. Even if the neglect/omission can be excused, which I argue it cannot be, then there must be proper Notice of the public meeting at which the Executive Session took place, along with questions such as who voted, when, with what information, etc.

In N.Y. CVS. LAW § 200 : NY Code - Section 200: Statement of policy:

"The legislature of the state of New York declares that it is the public policy of the state and the purpose of this act to promote harmonious and cooperative relationships between government and its employees and to protect the public by assuring, at all times, the orderly and uninterrupted operations and functions of government."

Public policy is not, therefore, intended to violate existing laws and confound Plaintiff, Defendants, and policymakers with inconsistencies and denial of protections especially those given by the Taylor Law pursuant to Section 3020-a(1) and (2)(a).  

In fact, in 2008 I was asking these same questions, so Ellie Engler, Leroy Barr, Gary Sprung called me into a meeting at which they told me that attending 3020-a was a "liability"for them and I had to stop. They also told me to take down my blog, even though Randi Weingarten had told me to continue doing my outside advocacy. Randi won. Thanks Randi!!

UFT Co-staff Director Leroy Barr

Below is Ellie Engler's apology (spelling and grammatical errors are hers):

From: Ellie Engler
Sent: Tuesday, October 14, 2008 4:45 PM
To: Betsy Combier
Cc: Randi Weingarten
Subject: RE: schedule Oct.6-10

Dear Betsy,

Please allow me to apologize to you.  I am knew to all of this...I spoke
with Randi at great length and she assured me that you could go to the
hearings if the members requested and that the members were more than
pleased with your advocacy.

I wrote the email to you prematurely and without investigating the issue
fully.  Therefore, I would be happy to meet with you again, but carry on
as they say and thank you for all of your good work.

I am so sorry for the mistake.

ellie

-----Original Message-----
From: Betsy Combier
Sent: Tuesday, October 14, 2008 4:32 PM
To: Ellie Engler; Garry Sprung; LeRoy Barr
Cc: Randi Weingarten; Betsy Combier
Subject: RE: schedule Oct.6-10

Dear Ellie,

I am quite confused. At the meeting to which I was called with you, Gary
and Leroy, the subject of my attendance at hearings was brought up by me
as part of what I thought was my very successful work helping members
who have been re-assigned. I have no recollection at all of any
agreement about anything to do with my going or not to the 3020-a
hearings at 51 Chambers Street. Gary said that he thought it might incur
some kind of liability, but Adam said that he did not think that it did.
I agree that everything must and should be discussed so that we are all
on the same path towards helping every member as much as possible,
however as I know of no agreement, I am somewhat saddened by what seems
to be a confrontation coming, something that I do not feel is warranted,
given that I try at all times to accommodate your requests. I have not
in the past, nor do I intend to in the future, violate "agreements", and
I offer that I am not aware of one - or any mention of one - at this
time.

I just called Angela to set up an appointment to meet once again.

Betsy

-----Original Message-----
From: Ellie Engler
Sent: Friday, October 10, 2008 7:29 PM
To: Betsy Combier; Garry Sprung; LeRoy Barr
Cc: Randi Weingarten
Subject: RE: schedule Oct.6-10

Thank you for the email. I understand all the points you raise in your
email however it contradicts the agreement we reached at our last
meeting. Agreements That you participated in. We have concernS about
your representatioN at the hearings and after our meeting last week I
thought we were all on the same page.

However this email makes it clear that your role at the trc is not one
we all agree upon. Betsy we are all on the same page about advocacy for
our members. The problem is that the roles we each play are not clearly
defined.

I would appreciate it if you could call angela berry to set up another
appointment for us to meet. Have a great weekend. Ellie

Sent from my GoodLink synchronized handheld (www.good.com)

 -----Original Message-----
From:   Betsy Combier
Sent:   Friday, October 10, 2008 05:39 PM Eastern Standard Time
To:     Garry Sprung; Ellie Engler; LeRoy Barr
Cc:     Betsy Combier
Subject:        RE: schedule Oct.6-10

Dear Gary, Ellie, and Leroy,

Several weeks ago I was asked by a member at the 333 7th
Avenue TRC, to attend her 3020a hearing on October 6, 2008, as an
observer. She had requested an open and public hearing prior to asking
me if I could attend. Members in the TRCs know that I provide this
advocacy work to people in need here in New York City, and have attended
open and public 3020a hearings for teachers for many years as an
observer. I attended all the hearings of a teacher in 2005 by the name
of David Pakter, at his request. I was fascinated by the process.

Randi asked me to provide advocacy at the UFT in August, 2007. I was
asked to help members, and have, I believe, done so by listening to all
members and putting members in touch with the borough offices and other
UFT staff who can file a grievance, correct a certificate, or do
whatever is necessary to resolve a problem. All last year I brought to
Leroy's attention pending issues that needed immediate attention for TRC
members. I am not an attorney and do not give legal advice.

I have been asked by members to attend open and public 3020a hearings
(after he/she decides, on his/her own volition, to have observers at the
hearing) and this attendance is very important to the members for
psychological support. I knew, from already attending hearings and
speaking with teachers in the New York City public school system before
August 2007, (three of my four daughters were attending NYC public
schools and one still is in the system in NYC) what many of the concerns
were. A major issue with newly re-assigned teachers is, as you well
know, the emotional trauma that seems to overpower members when removed
from their school, suddenly. I help the member who is feeling despair by
listening to all their concerns, and helping them understand what the
process is, in a very general way. I have, over the past year, gained
the trust of many of the members at all of the TRCs.

The 3020a hearing is frightening to all members, even those who have
been through the experience before. The member who wants an open and
public hearing wants someone there to just be "there" for him/her. I
never speak, never contribute "evidence", never testify, and never add
my opinion or give a judgment about a case. Members ask me to be at
their hearings because they are scared, and gradually realize that
indeed the UFT is "there" for them, throughout the process. There are
many members out there who say that the only way to win a hearing is to
have an open hearing. I do not ever say that. There are never any
guarantees of anything. If asked to attend a hearing, I do because it is
important to the member. There is no liability as I never contribute any
information that could be harmful or disrupt the process in any way.

By the way, perhaps I should add a little bit of my background in this
area. For thirty-three years I have been a TV News producer, reporter,
and journalist; for thirty years I have been an advocate. In 1978 I went
to Egypt to help villagers "talk" with the government and get the
appropriate goods and services needed to not only survive, but create
businesses, obtain an education, and realize their dreams, by setting up
solar-powered video and letting the villagers "speak" through this
media.

I worked on this project while producing news for ABC - TV, NBC, and
CBS, in Egypt, Israel and Jordan. I obtained a grant in 1983 for $84,000
and left Egypt after setting up the solar-powered video as a tool in
assisting the villagers. I wrote my Masters thesis on this topic for New
York University's Interactive Telecommunications Masters Program. This
form of advocacy work combines information forensics, reporting and
assistance in reaching a resolution to a problem for a person in need.

I hope that this addresses your question.

Betsy

-----Original Message-----
From: Garry Sprung
Sent: Saturday, October 04, 2008 3:27 AM
To: Betsy Combier; Ellie Engler; LeRoy Barr
Cc: Adam Ross
Subject: RE: schedule Oct.6-10

Can you explain to us what hearing you are attending and under whose
authorization on Monday at Chambers Street
Thank you

Appealing 3020-a decisions of Arbitrators Without Subject Matter Jurisdiction in NYC

I posted the article below in July 2012 after some Article 7511 appeals overturned the decisions of 3020-a Arbitrators. I am posting it also as a heads up about the story I will do very soon on the most unfair and biased Arbitrator on the UFT-DOE panel in NYC right now: Eleanor Elovich Glanstein.

People who receive unfair decisions in the 3020-a process should appeal these biased decisions!

Betsy Combier

The NYC Rubber Room Gotcha Squad Is Slammed By The New York State Supreme Court

Betsy Combier

betsy.combier@gmail.com
Editor, Advocatz.com
Editor, NYC Rubber Room Reporter
Editor, Parentadvocates.org
Editor, New York Court Corruption
Editor, National Public Voice
Editor, NYC Public Voice
Editor, Inside 3020-a Teacher Trials

Link - Parentadvocates.org

Arbitrator David Hyland ruled in February 2011 that a NYC Dean had to "learn her lesson" and pay $7,000 for after she left her office for several minutes and the father of the student who was being discussed as threatening to commit suicide took home a note his son had written on a napkin. Hyland punished Dean Nicole Moreno-Lieberman for not preserving a copy of the note and for her "serious negligence...impeded the investigation". NYS Supreme Court Judge Lucy Billings says this fine is "shocking to the conscience...By delegating unbounded latitude to respondents and Hearing Officers in these administrative actions, the statutory and regulatory scheme leaves their decisions subject to untrammeled discretion." From Betsy Combier: Thank you, Judge Billings!!!

When I first started looking into the "NYC Rubber Rooms" and the teacher trials for tenured teachers, (3020-a) in 2003 after speaking with Polo Colon, teachers David Pakter, and Teddy Smith, I was stunned to see what was going on.
In my opinion, Mayor Bloomberg had made a business out of framing people.
Children and their parents were, and still are, bribed to lie about what a teacher has said or done, and the rewards are diverse, such as a higher score on a test, graduation from school, promotion to another grade level, etc, all done in secret with the administrators of the school and the Superintendents and even higher-ups, Deputy Chancellors and the Chancellor himself - or herself, as in the case of Cathie Black. Putting all of this together is not difficult, as few people believe that a public servant is actually out to "get" him or her until it is too late. If a teacher knew that the child(ren) were lying, all they had to do was contact the parent(s) or tell a superior what was going on, and sooner than a blink of the eye, the teacher is shot down with charges either about some corporal punishment that he/she didn't do, or the ever-ready charge of "actual" tampering with an investigation, (which was slipped into Chancellor's Regulations A-420) is charged against him/her. Anyone can interpret what the term "actual tampering" means. My point here is, once the train has left the station, there is no stopping it. At least, that's what Mayor Bloomberg, the UFT, NYSUT, and private Attorneys - who do not have the experience in doing these hearings yet say that they do - want teachers subjected to the rubberization process to believe. It just is not legally sound.

What is "Actual Tampering?" "Actual" tampering, according to Federal law, specifically 18 U.S.C. §1503: "unlawful to "influence, obstruct, or impede the due administration of justice" and §1512, which proscribes intimidating, threatening, or corruptly persuading, through deceptive conduct, a person in connection with an official proceeding". Under 1503, a government agent must prove that a defendant acted "corruptly" with the specific intent to obstruct or interfere with the proceeding or due administration of justice. See United States v Bucey, 876 F.2d 1297, 1314 (7th Cir. 1989); United States v Smith, 729 F. Supp. 1380, 1383-84 (D.D.C. 1990).

Acting "corruptly": some courts have defined this term as acting with "evil and wicked purposes" see United States v Banks, 942 F.2d 1576, 1578 (11th Cir. 1991), but at the very least to "act corruptly" under the statute, a defendant must have acted with the specific intent to obstruct justice. See United States v Moon, 718 F2d 1219, 1236 (2d Cir. 1983): United States v. Bashaw, 982 F.2d 168, 170 (6th Cir. 1992); United States v Anderson, 798 F.2d 919, 928 (7th Cir, 1986; ) United States v Rasheed, 663 F.2 843, 847 (9th Cir. 1981). Thus it is not enough to prove that the defendant knew that a result of his actions might be to impede the administration of justice, if that was not his intent.

Section 1512 specifically applies to "witness tampering": a defendant was proven to have knowingly engaged in intimidation, physical force, threats, misleading conduct, or corrupt persuasion with intent to influence, delay, or prevent testimony or cause any person to withhold objects or documents from an official proceeding. The defendant must be aware of the possibility of a proceeding and his efforts must be aimed specifically at obstructing that proceeding, whether pending or not; §1512 does not apply to defendants' innocent remarks or other acts unintended to affect the proceeding. See United States v Wilson, 565 F. Supp. 1416, 1431 (S.D.N.Y. 1983).

None of this applies to most of the specifications currently charged teachers in NYC, but the DOE Gotcha Squad spends hundreds or thousands of dollars trying to prove "actual" tampering, anyway. As I mentioned above, this is a business and everyone profits (except the Respondent).

From 2003 to 2008 there was little, if any, opposition to the false claims business run by the NYC DOE and the Office of General Counsel, headed by Theresa Europe ("the Gotcha Squad"). See also my article on the misinformation of the Bloomberg/Klein/education mafia, Steven Brill for more on exactly how the Gotcha Squad works at 3020-a. Many people gave up, settled out of the 3020-a, resigned or retired. The effect of getting out early, before an arbitrator determined punishment for your supposedly horrific misconduct or incompetency at 3020-a was to put you in a precarious position as an ATR ("Absent Teacher Reserve") without rights or without any job at all.

In Rethinking Wrongful Discharge: A Continuum Approach by Robert C. Bird, (University of Cincinnati Law Review, Winter, 2004, 73 U. Cin. L. Rev. 517) Bird writes: “Employers acting with just cause treat their employees with punctilious concern for fairness and equity. Only the most qualified employees are promoted. Office politics and arbitrary decision-making do not infect the employment relationship...We hold "just cause" is a fair and honest cause or reason, regulated by good faith on the part of the party exercising the power. We further hold a discharge for "just cause" is one that is not for any arbitrary, capricious, or illegal reason and which is one based on facts (1) supported by substantial evidence and (2) reasonably believed by the employer to be true.”

The NYC panel of Arbitrators are told by the Gotcha Squad to disregard these well-known rules. Alan Berg, an Arbitrator on the panel, exonerated a teacher brought to 3020-a before him, and told me that he was punished by Theresa Europe for making the decision that he did; following his determination, he was moved from the Administrative Trials Unit (ATU) to the dreaded Teacher Performance Unit or TPU. I have heard Gotcha Squad member Dennis Da Costa screaming at Arbitrator Anne Powers that she "better do what he says, "or else".She does as she is told by Dennis.

Additionally, Theresa Europe places everyone who has been charged on a blacklist which will hamper any employer from hiring you in the future. This blacklist is the notorious "Ineligible/Inquiry" List from which attorney Ed Wolf was able to remove Philomena Brennan. Ms. Europe can take people off if she wants, and she puts people on there also whenever she wants to, it seems to me. NYS Supreme Court Judge Alice Schlesinger ordered Ms. Europe to tell her how she, Europe, put people on the list and took the names off, in the case of Philomena Brennan v NYC DOE (Index no. 112977/09).
The rubberization process is arbitrary, malicious, and discretionary.

First of all, the Rubber Room Gotcha Squad is a group comprised mostly of attorneys who are given the authority by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his allies in NYC to remove tenured teachers - or non-tenured, depending on the circumstances - from their classroom duties because someone in the chain of command at the NYC Department of Education wants them to be out of the school. It's very simple, really.

Secondly, the initial targeting is followed by a strategy of threats, humiliation, fear and retaliation supported the Gotcha Squad as the group denies rights to anyone who opposes their false claims and conspiracy of harm. All anyone has to do to be a target is to ask, "Why?", or "Where's the money?"

Thirdly, the agents or messengers of harm must be protected, and given special status, so that those people who are fearless and refuse to be squashed by the Gotcha Squad's lawless lies and then the retaliation, threats, and verbal abuse used to punish anyone who remains standing after #1 and #2 above, can be denied a resolution to the "problem", which is basically that these fearless souls won't go away never to be heard from again. Thus the Gotcha Squad's subgroups such as the Office of Equal Opportunity (OEO), Special Commissioner of Investigation (SCI) and Office of Special Investigation (OSI) are given authority similar to the SS in World War II (but not military; mostly civilian attorneys or people willing to follow the orders of the Mayor, the Chancellor, and the New York Law Department).

The UFT and NYSUT, the legal arm of the teacher's union, can and do act in the interest of the Unity caucus, and not in support of individual members. Very few members believe me when I tell them this before they are brought to 3020-a, but many believe this is true after the 3020-a is over, and the Hearing Officer has made a decision that often does not rest on any fact or law. NYSUT attorneys often do not do a good job defending the member at 3020-a because, I was told, everyone charged is presumed "guilty". In fact, the Unity brass told me over and over again that all people housed in the infamous "rubber rooms" - which today are smaller rooms with a few re-assigned DOE employees in each room in an office or school - are not supposed to talk to each other, cannot dispute an investigator, and are guilty of whatever he or she is accused of, so dont try too hard to find a way to save his or her career. I worked for the UFT from 2007 to 2010, and I was hired by Randi Weingarten. I did not agree that everyone was automatically guilty of the specifications they were given, and I looked into each case.

The DOE and UFT, in order to stop any employee targeted for termination from getting a vacatur or dismissal of the decision of an arbitrator, changed the rules for appealing a determination made at 3020-a in 1994 and several times afterward. The New York State Education Department Commissioner no longer was the office of jurisdiction where decisions were made to sustain or vacate the decisions made at 3020-a. After 1994 people dissatisfied at 3020-a had to file an Article 75 to the New York State Supreme Court instead of NYSED. To many non-Attorneys, filing anything in court is frightening. That was, I am sure, a main reason for the change.

To further hamper anyone from appealing, the statute giving a petitioner 30 days to file an Article 75 was shortened to 10 days, with another 15 to amend. NYSUT attorneys never take on a case that was lost at 3020-a, this is another problem. After a 3020-a is closed and decided, NYSUT attorneys always write the client and say, in general, sorry you did not win at 3020-a, however, we are not going to help you appeal. Goodbye.

The New York State Supreme Court is a mangled mess right now, desperately in need of a total overhaul. The judges are arrogant with their immunity from prosecution, and some judges, like Cynthia Kern now on the First Department Appellate Division, could not care less about the facts in a case. She grants dismissal of any and all petitions filed by a teacher or any other DOE employee. Her loyalty is very much in the interests of the New York Law Department and the DOE.

Sometimes good decisions do come out of the supreme court. The case of Christopher Asch is a case that won a vacatur of the decision of arbitrator David Hyland. Asch signed his petition as "pro se". NYS Supreme Court Judge Manuel Mendez overturned the 6-month suspension, gave Chris his backpay, and ordered the reimbursement of the money spent on a psychiatrist.

Recently David Hyland was again overturned, this time by NYS Supreme Court Judge Lucy Billings in the case of Nicole Moreno-Lieberman. Arbitrator Hyland ruled in February 2011 that a NYC Dean, Moreno-Lieberman, had to "learn her lesson" and pay $7,000 for after she left her office for several minutes and the father of the student who was being discussed as threatening to commit suicide took home a note his son had written on a napkin. Hyland punished Dean Nicole Moreno-Lieberman for not preserving a copy of the note and for her "serious negligence...impeded the investigation". NYS Supreme Court Judge Luck Billings says this fine is "shocking to the conscience...By delegating unbounded latitude to respondents and Hearing Officers in these administrative actions, the statutory and regulatory scheme leaves their decisions subject to untrammeled discretion."

Kudos to Judge Billings, who seems to see that the 3020-a arbitrators in New York City need a reality check, and not just a check from the Gotcha Squad for throwing a case.

COMMENT from Attorney Joy Hochstadt:

Its just the beginning, thousands of teachers are harassed and resign before they are brought up on charges. I was told that if I resigned before the charges were presented to me (four months after I was told I was under"investigation"), then I would leave with a clean record--Klaus Bornemann forgot to tell me I'd be on the I/I list forever unless I fought it in Court. I was naive, I believed the arbitrators would not debase themselves and be biased.

Then my NYSUT Attorney told me my arbitrator fired everyone; in fact the UFT had voted her off the panel, ten years ago, but the DOE offered the UFT an extra seat on the collective bargaining committee for as long as the UFT allowed Eleanor Glanstein to remain on the 3020-a permanent arbitrator panel. And so I was fired for being assigned by my Principal self-contained special ed classes for my entire program for an entire year when I have no license or background in dealing with special ed; most of the classes had students diagnosed as Emotionally Disturbed. Then they stipulated to my exemplary subject matter skills but said I was incompetent in classroom management, the administration had seen a student walk out without a pass to get a drink at a water fountain 1 foot from the classroom door.

Another called out his answer in class during an observation, the "do now" was 7 minutes for a class of students who find it difficult to focus and are distractable--it should be no more than 5 minutes, etc. What a waste when I was the best-prepared biology teacher that ever worked for the DOE. Therefore, the Principal would rather put me in a position where she could find B.S. fault with me than to allow the advanced and capable students benefit with what I could imbue then with. The DOE attorney at the 3020-a said the assignment to special ed classes should not be mitigating because I would have had to grieve it and win (and my chapter leader told me it was too late in the term to change every teacher's program--but I grieved it before school started--the Principal elected not to hear it for 7 weeks!) 

Funny part I offered to help--I wrote a comprehensive plan of incentives to get out students to strive to achieve starting with color coded IDs which would let everyone know what grade placement the student had earned sufficient credits for along outings, Broadway shows, meals in Restaurants, to students of the "month" (a short enough time that students could show improvement--and there would be two cohorts --for best grades and for most improvement. Principal was so threatened she tried to put a letter in my file for distributing my proposal without her consent --UFT chapter leaders consent was all that was necessary, by precedent.

Principal lost her school, DOE settled my lawsuit in my favor, and now all the other similarly situated teachers ask for my help --- but it takes the rare judge not to go along with the "program." What observers fail to understand is the scale at which this is being done. I try as best as I can to get the number of teachers given "U" ratings over the last 15 years, the number removed from regular assigments, the number unlawfully brought up on charges by their Principals who are afraid of losing their own jobs--the great old Principal with grandfathered tenure --do not do this --their schools are happy places to works at and have been for decades--it says more about the Principals than the teachers when one Principal sends 9 teachers to the rubber room in 2005-2006 and is voted Principal of the Year for 2006-2007--the Bloomberg Administration is rewarding the Principals for ousting tenured, high paid, and long-service teachers to save billions of $$$$$ by replacing them with cheap inexperienced, teachers who will never earn tenure, will never get vested in a pension plan that the city does not want to honor. 

Tier I teachers, almost a relic of the past if they worked from 22-62 retired a 100% final years salary plus no FICA, no Medicare tax, no state or city income tax ergo a pension payout equivalent to 125% prior take home. Tier I who worked from 22-42 and then did something else, as long as they had their QPP in Variable A, 13 years later at age 55 would retire at greater than 100% of what their final years pay was when they left--and only now is the life expectancy for teachers (no hard labor, nor dangerous assignments and adequate medical care covered by the employer) 30-40 years after they begin to get the payout. To avoid that cost, there is an overwhelming pressure to lock in the pensions where they are rather than accrue an additional liability of ~$80,000.00 in lifetime payout for each year the teacher continues to teach beyond this year for teachers with 20 or more years in the system and $72,000.00/year for each year the teacher teaches until 20 years of service. 

So economics demand they get out all tier1-2 immediately if not before, that they get out tier 3-4 teachers ASAP and that only tier V teachers where the teacher pays most to the accummulation remain so the city does not go bankrupt. More important so that Bloomberg and his other billionaired friends do not foot the bill.

When confronted with these facts. they answer that they are improving the schools as well--but they are not--its Rumplestiltskin without the elf! The "bottom line" Principals do not know how to achieve higher test scores, so they blame the teachers who know that they can't do it, keep the submissive new and cheap teachers so at least they get kudos for savings. They scrub the scores and get big bonuses for student achievement, (they even embezzle to milk the system as their days are always numbered). And Bloomberg in behalf of himself and his friends have ended tenure, drastically reduced future pension obligations, lowered average salaries--and enriched the union because if there are 70,000 teachers earning S50,000.00 per year instead of 50,000 teachers earning $70,000/year then the UFT earns an additional $22,000,000.00 in union dues so it goes along.

Betsy and I should write a book "Why the DOE does not care that Tyrone does not want to learn to read" --Mayoral control of the schools for reform was for the purpose of saving massive amounts of money. whether or not the students benefited, or even whether the students got less--Because just as the teachers assumed to be guilty or incompetent before the fact--it is worse that the students going to the public schools of NYC are presumed to not be amenable to getting an education, in any event--so at least we should save the money--and not all go bust in the process.

It is a social Darwinism approach that the best teachers and the best students will outmaneuver the system and benefit from it. They'll even give me as an example, that I came to Randi's and her counsel's attention as someone wrongly removed and UFT hired NYSUT attorneys to prosecute a case in my behalf which the NYC Law Department settled almost immediately. They told me there was at least one case that did as well if not better. Demonstrable provable sexual harassment by a superior administrator against a DOE subordinate employee, usually can do well. But wrongful 3020-a charges do not--I was very lucky. A group of us need to go to the legislature and get hearings, because the problems that are seeking a solution need the legislature to intervene. 

The false accusations, defamation, loss of profession, mental anguish, blackballing I/I list--is simply criminal and intentionally so. Every prosecutor in the ATU and TPU must understand that they all are committing prosecutorial misconduct. It is as bad as prosecutors sending defendants they know to to be innocent to life sentences just so they can add to their conviction rate! Please contact me to volunteer to work on a legislative initiative both to clue in the legislature as to what is going on, and to write and lobby new legislation for NYC that will restore integrity to a corrupt and misused disciplinary process.

Joy Hochstadt, Ph.D., J.D.

Laura Brantley Becomes Director of The NYC DOE Gotcha Squad

Theresa Europe has been moved from the Gotcha Squad and Laura Brantley has become the Director of the Administrative Trials Unit (ATU) of the DOE:

Administrative Trials Unit

The Administrative Trials Unit is responsible for the prosecution of disciplinary cases.
ATU is available for trainings and advice on how to discipline a tenured employee or permanent civil servant and also to review documentation as it relates to the discipline process. If appropriate, ATU may draft charges under Education Law, Section 3020-a or Section 75 of the Civil Service Law against the subject employee. This process entails a joint effort by the principal and/or supervisor along with the ATU attorney to litigate a case against the employee either for the purposes of progressive discipline or to seek the employee's termination. Should you seek charges, you must schedule a Technical Assistance Conference (TAC) with ATU for a complete review of the employee's personnel file and any related discussions.

• Contacts
• Laura Brantley, Director
  (212) 374-6770
  LBrantley@schools.nyc.gov

David Pakter and Rudy Giuliani

We all now know how the frame-up works: 
 The Gotcha Squad is empowered by the absolute immunity given to NYC BOE managers, administrators, and lawyers, who are defended in court by the Corporation Counsel, the Law Department of the City of New York...nice free legal help. Additionally, the arbitrators and NYC BOE Attorneys in the 3020-a proceedings ignore the "Labor FAQs" of the collective bargaining agreement policies established between the NYC BOE nd the UFT, all the time. I know, because I have attended the open and public 3020-a hearings of tenured teachers since 2003.

The entire process is fueled, edited, created, guided, and managed, by the lawyers at the Office of General Counsel, or the group that I call "The Gotcha Squad". 

 Remember, Union members and administrators are treated very differently in the New York City public school system. A principal who discriminates or does something else that is illegal or corrupt does not get the same punishment as a teacher or staff member, who, more often than not (especially if the individual is not 'politically connected'), is removed from the school - either fired immediately if this person is not tenured, or re-assigned to a "rubber room" if he/she has tenure - the minute a principal wants him/her ousted. Reasons are made up after the fact.

At 3020-a, anyone with tenure is "reviewed" by the NYC "Gotcha Squad", charged, and scheduled for a Hearing at which there is a disposition. Teachers and other staff are treated differently than administrators. This is a business, and the buyer is the City of New York. 

Now let me tell you about Laura Brantley quitting as a DOE Attorney during the 3020-a of David Pakter:. 


In my 2008-9 article David Pakter, a NYC Teacher and Whistleblower of the NYC Board of Education's Corrupt Practices, Sues in Federal Court on Parentadvocates.org, I wrote an update:

A timeless article re-posted from 2009: Four years and four New York City Board of Education re-assignment centers ("rubber rooms") later, David Pakter completes his journey to hold the New York City Board of Education accountable for taking him away from his very successful career in the New York City public school system as an excellent teacher, and dumping him into the dungeons of the NYC rubber rooms. For what? For trying to expose racial discrimination at one school, and buying plants for the lobby at another. I've been there to see it all, and it's quite a story of retaliation and vindictiveness by the NYC BOE against a teacher who did the right thing and would not be silenced. by Betsy Combier
           

Betsy's note: David Pakter is a teacher who will teach again. His lesson will be perhaps not for the children he taught at the High School of Art and Design in New York City, but for adult learners who need to know how to stop the abuse by the New York City Department of Education of teachers who whistleblow what is happening in the City Schools.

UPDATE January 2013:

About 5 years ago David taped the disciplinary meeting about the plants with Principal Nieto of Fashion Industries, (where he was appointed after he was freed from the rubber rooms). Nieto and Michael La Forgia were recorded as they asked him about how to accept his offer of giving the school $10,000 as a donation, without incurring any repercussions from the NYC DOE. When the charges came in that he was being accused of selling watches and bringing plants into the building, he knew that he had a gem in his little digital recorder. Principal Nieto came in to testify for the NYC DOE about the "horribly insubordinate" employee named David Pakter, and David made sure that he had the tape in his jacket pocket. He also brought a tape playback machine. I attended all of his hearings.

The Hearing Officer for the Pakter 3020-a was Doug Bantle, in my opinion the absolute best arbitrator I personally have ever watched. Why do I think that? Because Mr. Bantle is fair to all parties, listens to all testimony, asks relevant questions about the testimony if something is left unclear, and makes decisions outside of the political forces which could, if he allowed, influence him. He doesnt allow anyone or anything to divert him from the facts in the case, and everyone - except the Gotcha Squad - praised him for his work. He was fired during the Pakter case because he would not allow David Pakter to be charged and appear for a third 3020-a. 

Principal Nieto settled in as her NYC DOE Attorney Laura Brantley started the direct examination. Nieto testified that she tried to get David to abide by school rules, in vain. She spent alot of time on the "meeting" at which she admonished David for bringing in plants, when the school had rules to follow. And she went on and on, oblivious to the fact that she was totally not truthful. She was quite credible in telling her lies under oath.

Betsy Combier and Chris Callagy

Then, it was David's NYSUT Attorney Chris Callagy's turn to cross-examine. Chris is a very handsome, talented actor ...opps, I mean lawyer...who loves to be 'on'. In that sense, he is one of the best attorneys that NYSUT has, as he can ask great questions without the party being asked these questions realizing they are not able to, or dont want to, answer, He started by asking really simple questions, and then switched to a style whereby he asked at the start of every question, "Isn't it true that....." as in, words to the effect of, "Isn't it true that the meeting that you just described was not held to discuss David Pakter's insubordination, but a huge, generous gift of money?" "Isn't it true that you did not discuss discipline?" etc.

Nieto just did not get it until several minutes into the cross. Suddenly, she sat up and, looking straight at Chris, said, in effect, "Wait a minute.....was this meeting taped???"

Chris said, "could be...."

DOE Attorney Laura Brantley stood up and said to Arbitrator Doug Bantle and Chris, "come outside with me now!."

Chris, Doug Bantle and Laura Brantley went outside. When Chris and Doug Bantle came back in, Bantle announced that Laura Brantley had quit the case, and that he had to adjourn until the NYC DOE found another attorney to take her place. Approximately two weeks later, Phil Oliveri came in as Brantley's replacement, and he did the best he could. The Department wanted to bring in a third set of charges which would be heard at the third 3020-a, but Bantle combined the new charges into the on-going hearing. Ms. Brantley was made ATU Director Theresa Europe's assistant.

Evidently the UFT and the DOE Gotcha Squad(s) didn't like Arbitrator Bantle not wanting to have David go through another 3020-a, and, stunning news came into the hearing when Arbitrator Bantle brought in his letter firing him from the NYC Panel. 

More recently, I heard Dennis Da Costa yelling at 3020-a Arbitrator Anne Powers that she had to change her ruling that a Respondent didnt have to pay for an adjournment. He said that Ms. Powers had to do what he told her to do, as he was her "boss" (he is Assistant Director of the Teacher Performance Unit). The door to the hearing room on the 7th floor was open, and I was walking by. NYSUT Attorney Jennifer Hogan was sitting with Powers and Da Costa.

Later that day, the Respondent, who had hired a private attorney to replace Ms. Hogan, told me, he was emailed a bill for $4800 from Arbitrator Powers, overturning her earlier ruling that he did not have to pay anything. The Respondent worried that he better pay her or he would be punished, by termination. He did not pay the amount. He was terminated.  

The Gotcha Squad MUST remain in control at all times.