The NYC Department of Education and The Employment of Investigators at OSI, DOI, SCI, OEO

I am re-posting a very important post written by Francesco Portelos for his blog, Protectportelos.org, on the taxpayer fraud at the DOE.

We are paying for the DOE/DOI/SCI/OEO/OSI investigators to investigate us. And it all starts with asking "where is the money?" Similarly, "where do my tax dollars go?" We, the general public, have no way to counter their rulings except in expensive and time-consuming litigation.

I have posted many times that on May 23, 2000 our current Chancellor, Carmen Farina, called me up at home screaming, cursing, and verbally attacking me after I asked where the money was going that had been given to PS 6 and PS 198 for the Arts. I listened to 20 minutes of horror. It was quite a shock, because at the time I was new to the public school system, and had worked with Carmen for 2 years on setting up a project called the Arts Together Community Partnership, my idea.

No one told me that after I asked where the grant money went, I, my children, and my life would be harassed, investigated, and harmed.

My point is this: if you see something in a school that you think is a violation of law, rights, or theft, report it, in writing and in detail, to a person outside of the ring of thieves DOE/DOI/SCI/OEO/OSI, like a lawyer, the police, the District Attorney. Document everything, who you go to, who you talk to, etc. This is VERY important.

 And if you are told that you must go speak with an investigator, GO!!! but be cautious in answering their questions, as their goal is to charge you with whatever happened. And always assume that everything you say to anyone is being taped.

Betsy Combier

The Special Commissioner of Investigation’s Hand is in the Pocket of the Chancellor?

 SEPTEMBER 26, 2013

SCI Richard Condon is in the Pocket of the DOE Dennis Walcott?

Part 1 of the EducatorFightsBack.org’s  SCI Series

The Special Commissioner of Investigation’s Hand is in the Pocket of the Chancellor?

Relax…it’s a question, not a statement. Notice the “question mark” at the end? Just a quick thank you to my public school teachers for teaching me proper punctuation and grammar. Any mistakes you see with commas and wrong use of capitals are mostly my lack of proofreading. Sorry, but I’m fighting for my career and trying to be a father and husband, so these posts are often written and posted quickly. Never written without thought though.

In any case, back to the question above. The Special Commissioner of Investigation’s Hand is in the Pocket of the Chancellor? I’m simply asking who pays Special Commissioner of Investigation Richard Condon and the rest of the investigators and lawyers of SCI. Not a valid question? I mean two of them, Mr. Martucci and Mr. Romano, paid a visit to my father-in-law this past summer at his job, while my family and I were in Greece. That is three months after the 14 month investigation on me was over (See report here).

More recently, the day before my 3020-a termination hearing was tostart, the two investigators came back and visited my mother-in-law at her apartment where she watches my two boys. That was just two weeks ago today. To make it even more interesting, she told me they were playing with my son. Hmm….I mean I know I have been a big job security for the over 13 investigators, but I don’t think we are at the level where they can come “gaga googoo” with my kids. Apparently there are even more investigations on me and that brings the number up to a whopping 38 . Yes, 38 investigations on me that all started afterI questioned the budget and put in my own complaint about my principal’s alleged financial misconduct. By the way, SCI did not take that case and referred it to the DOE’s Office of Special Investigation (OSI). Yes for over 600 days the DOE has been investigating the DOE.

This brings us to the meat and question of this post. Who investigates what and who is paying for it. You would agree that following the papertrail is important as “Cash is King”, correct?

The DOE has two investigative bodies that are under the jurisdiction of Chancellor Dennis Walcott. That is OSI and OEO (Office of Equal Opportunity. Now OSI typically takes cases of corporal punishment of students and OEO handles discrimination and harassment. I italicized the word typically for a reason. SCI, who works under the NYC Department of Investigation (DOI), takes on “more serious” cases and can defer cases to OEO and OSI, so some cases not involving corporal punishment, harassment and discrimination can be investigated by OSI and OEO if referred.

Are you still following? Maybe this will help:

DOI—->SCI

DOE—-> OSI and OEO

Now seeing this and watching the news when Richard Condon is talking about some higher profile investigation, you would think that SCI is unbiased, a body way above the DOE and therefore impartial, right? They owe no allegiance to the DOE, so why would any SCI investigation and finding be flawed or biased. A United Federation of Teachers (UFT)lawyer once told me “The DOE is scared of SCI and hates them, because SCI investigates them.” <cough>bullsh*t<cough>.

You see, while I was in educator exile I did a little investigating of my own and this is what I found:

By using the website www.seethroughny.net, you are able to put in any city employee and see their salary for the last few years. You can also see their overtime and per-session. What interested me the most is that you can actually also see where the money comes from. Let’s take a look and compare, shall we?

Here is DOE Chancellor Dennis Walcott’s:

Notice the Agency that pays him is the Department of Education?

Next we enter an arbitrary DOE lawyer like David Brodsky

Now let’s pop in the Commissioner of the NYC Department of Investigation, which is above SCI and separate from DOE.

Rose Gill Hearn Payroll

Ok, that makes sense. She is paid from the budget of the Department of Investigation.

Now Let’s just plug in Richard Condon in the search. Should be DOI as well, right?

Ehhh…wrong.

Wait…What the what? Richard Condon get’s paid from the budget of the DOE? The same body he investigates?

There must be some mistake. Let’s enter another SCI employee like Chief Investigator Thomas Fennell. By the way, I know way too many names of investigators for being a mild-mannered tech teacher. Mr. Fennell assigns cases and I believe also refers or even decides not to investigate them.

What? Paid from the DOE as well? I did this for all the investigators I know and all the same. Even the lawyers who were involved in denying my whistleblower complaint.

What? You want more proof that the DOE pays Richard Condon and his office from their $25 billion budget?

Ok, well look what else I found when I looked at my own school’s budget and expenditures from 2010-2011. Looks like we paid about $6,637 to the Special Commissioner of Investigation. Unless I’m reading it wrong. Click Here for School budget link

Finally….I simply asked SCI who pays them.

Response below

———-

From: Ann Ryan <aryan@nycsci.org>
Date: Tue, May 28, 2013 at 4:02 PM
Subject: Request for information
To: “Mr. Portelos” <mrportelos@gmail.com>

Dear Mr. Portelos:

I have been asked to respond to the e-mail request for information you made on May 15, 2013 at 12:58 p.m. to, it appears, www.nyc.gov.  That inquiry was ultimately forwarded to me.  You asked:

“Is the Special Commissioner of Investigation [(“SCI”)] a totally separate entity from the NYC Dept of Education?  Does it receive any funding from the NYC DOE budget?” 

The answers to these questions can be found in the Executive Order which established SCI.  This document can be found on SCI’s website.   

Section 1 of Executive Order No. 11 of 1990 requires the Commissioner of Investigation to appoint a Deputy Commissioner of Investigation for the New York City School District, “who shall be independent from the Board of Education.”

Section 5 requires that “[t]he salary and expenses of the Deputy Commissioner and his or her staff shall be borne by the Board of Education, within a budget allocation mutually agreed upon by the Board of Education and the City, provided however, that such budgetary allocation will be sufficient to ensure the effective and independent performance of the duties and responsibilities of the Deputy Commissioner.”

(Subsequently, Executive Order No. 34 of 1992 changed the title “Deputy Commissioner” to the “Special Commissioner of Investigation.”)

Very truly yours,  Ann Ryan, SCI

————————————-

And there you have it.

Let’s just look at this analogy here. One SCI investigator once said to me “You are always using analogies. It’s probably because you are a teacher.”

Imagine you owned a house and you needed an inspector to check on some violations. You call Jim Bob Inspection and pay Jim Bob to come and investigate for any violations or issues. He investigates and you cut him a check. Once he leaves he sends you a report with his findings and on top of that calls the Department of Buildings who then fines you. Yes, you paid Jim Bob and yes he investigated, but in the end he found thatyou had violations. Not a likely story?

Did you follow that analogy? How impartial is impartial? So is the commissioner’s hand in the pocket of the chancellor? Not physically, but it appears Chief Financial Officer Michael Tragale cuts them a check.

Also check out Betsy Combier’s coverage here: Two Reports, “Investigating The Investigators”, and ‘The Gill Commission Report’ (1990) Dont Improve New York City Public Schools

12 COMMENTS

The Voteless Parents in NYC Get To "Choose" Their CEC Representatives

I am sure that the citizens of New York City understand the inequity of New York's Department of Education. The folk who work at the DOE will do anything to protect their "own", which means those who are willing to separate themselves from following the law, rules against nepotism and theft, and all those things which easy can be called improper or at least unethical and in most cases illegal.

If you are a relative of a politician, an administrator, and/or a favored employee of the DOE or you are a "special friend" of anyone, you are in. Credentials matter.

That's why people who steal remain on the DOE payroll. They may be moved to a high position if a misconduct charge is substantiated against him/her, but they are rarely pushed aside.

I am NOT saying there are not good people who work for the DOE. There are, thankfully, many excellent people still on the books who would rather stop unethical behavior and put their jobs on the line than protect crimes against the health, safety, and welfare of the students.

In 2003 I was lucky enough to receive from Corporation Counsel Michael Cardozo a document which spells it out very clearly. His letter to the Department of Justice in Washington DC urged the DOJ to allow Mike Bloomberg to take away the vote for the people who govern the school districts in NYC, and replace with a system whereby PTA Presidents, Treasurers and Secretaries would be the "selectors" who would vote for CEC members, or the powerless Community Education Councils around town. Bloomberg did not believe in fair representation, because this would mean that his control was not absolute. This letter started me thinking about what really was going on. In my opinion, this was the denial of the right to vote, which I take very seriously. I started working on my book.

Bloomberg/Cardozo also dismantled the NYC Board of Education and replaced it with the Panel For Educational Policy. The difference? PEP members are not voted into office, they are all appointed. Their so-called "vote" is tainted by what their boss says. Even if they do vote on something, they vote the way Joel/Cathie/Dennis/Carmen want, or the PEP should look for another position somewhere else. Simple. And unfair.

My youngest daughter was in PS 6 when Carmen Farina was Principal. I worked with her on the Annenberg Challenge for the Arts, and I set up the Arts Together Community Partnership (ATCP). I was on the Executive Board of PS 6, and I thought that everyone worked for the kids. I was new to public school, my other daughters attended private schools in grades 1-5.

I was wrong. The day that I asked where the money given by Annenberg was going, Carmen called me up (May 23, 2000) cursing, screaming, accusing me of theft, hiring/firing the arts people at PS 6, she yelled and screamed for 20 minutes. I almost had a heart attack. I had never heard anyone so abusive, and I had never heard most of the words she used, either. The next day the ATCP brochures and papers were thrown away, I heard, with the assistance of Assistant Corporation Counsel Jane Gordon, a parent at the school. I was told to never be involved in anything at PS 6 ever again.

The next year I ran for PTA President. I was already fighting back, investigating, and documenting everything. Carmen was removed from PS 6 in February.

In the article below, you will see the following:

"After the forums, three officers from each school’s Parent Association (PA) and Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) – the President, Recording Secretary, and Treasurer – will cast ballots online for their preferred district candidates between April 19 and May 8. On May 12, the results will be posted online at NYCParentLeaders.org."

Parents who are not "elected" by the system are without a vote.

I protest.

Betsy Combier

UFT President Mike Mulgrew, NYC Mayor Bill DeBlasio, Chancellor Carmen Farina

CHANCELLOR FARIÑA ENCOURAGES PARENTS TO GET INVOLVED BY RUNNING FOR AN EDUCATION COUNCIL SEAT

 

The 36 Community Education Councils include 32 District Councils and Four Citywide Councils, one each for High Schools, English Language Learners, Special Education and District 75

 

CCECs Offer Parents an Opportunity to Shape Educational Policies in their Districts and Make a Direct Impact in their School Communities

 

          NEW YORK –New York City Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña today encouraged parents across the city to make a direct impact on their child’s education by running for an Education Council seat. Parents interested in becoming members of a Community or Citywide Education Council (CCEC) can apply starting today through March 11, and should visit NYCParentLeaders.org for more information.

 

“The Community and Citywide Education Councils help shape education policies and maintain strong relationships with families and the community,” said Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña. “Education Councils make important contributions to their communities and I want to encourage parents across the city to apply for a seat. We need strong CECs in every district and citywide.”

 

Elections take place every two years, and this year, the DOE is engaging in a citywide effort to reach parents and raise awareness of these leadership roles, reflecting the Chancellor’s ongoing commitment to collaborating with families in the imperative work of preparing our city’s students for college and the workforce.

 

“Education Councils provide parents a voice in public education and an opportunity to make grass-roots level impact in their school districts,” said Jesse Mojica, Executive Director of the Division of Family and Community Engagement. “All New York City public school parents should consider participating in this unique opportunity to become transformative leaders in their communities.” 

 

Parents serve two-year terms on 36 Councils throughout the City, which include 32 district councils and four citywide councils, one each for High Schools, English Language Learners, Special Education and District 75. The 32 district CECs are responsible for approving school zoning lines, holding hearings on the Capital Plan, and providing additional input on important policy issues. Citywide Councils evaluate and advise on school policy concerning their areas of focus.

 

After applications are submitted, candidates will engage parents and parent leaders at forums planned between March 18 and April 18.

 

After the forums, three officers from each school’s Parent Association (PA) and Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) – the President, Recording Secretary, and Treasurer – will cast ballots online for their preferred district candidates between April 19 and May 8. On May 12, the results will be posted online at NYCParentLeaders.org.

 

Elected parents will receive trainings and leadership development sessions, ensuring they are able to use their positions effectively to make their voices heard, advocate for students, and form functional Councils.

 

Candidates for district CEC positions must be parents of a student enrolled in a district elementary or middle school, while candidates for the Citywide Council on High Schools must have a student in high school. Candidates for the other three Citywide Councils must have a student receiving the relevant services.

 

There is no experience or language requirement for candidates to run. Translation services are available at meetings for CEC members who may not speak English. Immigration status is never a consideration for an Education Council position. 

 

“Serving on an Education Council is rewarding because you have a direct influence on shaping education policies in your child’s school district,” said Arlenis Morel, a member of CEC 24. “We are our kids’ fiercest advocates and Education Councils allow us to ensure that their academic needs are met.”

 

As part of the broader Community and Citywide Education Council selection process, elected officials urged parents to apply.

 

“I encourage public school parents citywide to join Community and Citywide Education Councils, which present the best opportunity to be involved in the future of our schools, and directly connect parents to the resources in local communities,” said Public Advocate Letitia James. “Our children deserve the best, and no one understands that better than parents. Their voice is integral to our education system.”

 

“CECs are meant to ensure parental input in our school system,” Queens Borough President Melinda Katz said. “It is critical to have parents be an integral part of the decision-making process to shape and set education policies. As a mom of two young boys, I can attest firsthand to the impact that parental involvement has on our education system. Queens parents are some of the most active, vocal and effective in the city, and the difference is clear. The nexus of collaboration between families, educators and surrounding community is the key to the success of our schools.”

 

“Through Community Education Councils, parents can shape and support their neighborhood schools and influence decisions that affect the entire school system,” said Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer. “I strongly encourage parents to apply for seats on their district CECs. Their insight, experience, and energy are crucial to improving our schools.”

“We need a variety of voices, viewpoints, and opinions serving in our CECs,” said Staten Island Borough President James Oddo. “For those parents who have ever thought about getting more involved in the school system, now is the time to do so by running for a spot on the CEC.  Share your talents and your experiences with us, and help us improve our schools.”

“Parental participation in the educational process is an important component that needs to be emphasized as much as hitting the books, which is why the Community Education Council elections are very important,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.  “As a parent, I understand how important it was for my children to feel they had me as an advocate on their behalf. As the Bronx Borough President, I understand how important it is to be an advocate for not only my children, but all of the Bronx’s children. We urge parents to become a part of this process to make sure the voices at the table are diverse and representative of our communities and the needs of our children.”

“Parent leaders who are part of Community Education Councils advocate for those most deserving of your time and attention – our students,” said Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams. “Even with all the challenges, there is no greater honor than representing your community and making Brooklyn a better place to live, work, and raise a family.”

 

For more information, parents can visit NYCParentLeaders.org, a key resource for understanding the structure and roles of the Education Councils. Information available on this website includes eligibility guidelines, key dates, and frequently asked questions.

 

The Councils

 

Community Education Councils (CEC)
The CECs work closely with the district superintendents, approve school zoning lines, hold hearings on the Capital Plan, and provide input on instructional and policy issues. There are 32 CECs. Each CEC has nine elected members who are parents of students currently in grades K-8 in district schools, and two Borough President appointees.

 

 

 

 

 

Citywide Council on High Schools (CCHS)
The CCHS advises on education policy and issues involving high school students. The CCHS has 10 elected members, two from each borough, who must be the parents of students currently attending a public high school.

 

Citywide Council on English Language Learners (CCELL)
The CCELL advises on education policy and issues involving students in bilingual or English as a Second Language (ESL) programs. The CCELL has nine elected members, who must be parents of students currently or recently classified by the DOE as English Language Learners.

 

Citywide Council on Special Education (CCSE)
The CCSE advises on education policy and services for students with disabilities. The CCSE has nine elected members, who must be parents of students receiving special education services provided by the DOE.

 

Citywide Council for District 75 (CCD75)
The CCD75 advises on education policy and services for students with disabilities who attend D75 programs. The CCD75 has nine elected members, who must be parents of students in a D75 program.

 

Important dates

 

February 11 - March 11 Parents interested in running for a seat on an Education Council submit an application online (computers will be available at schools and libraries).  

 

March 18 - April 18 – District and borough parent leaders, along with the DOE, host forums for parents to meet and ask questions of Education Council candidates.

 

April 19 - May 8 – Presidents, Treasurers, and Recording Secretaries of Parent Associations and Parent-Teacher Associations vote for the new Community and Citywide Education Council Members for the 2015-2017 term.

May 12 – Election results are published on NYCParentLeaders.org.

 

July 1 – Elected and appointed Community and Citywide Education Council Members for the 2015-2017 term take office.

 

 

 

There will be five borough-based information sessions for prospective candidates. Each will be held from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm on their respective dates:

 

Brooklyn:            February 17

Brooklyn Borough Hall

209 Joralemon St.

Brooklyn, NY 11201

 

Queens:               February 24

Queens Borough Hall

120-55 Queens Blvd, Room 200

Kew Gardens, NY 11424

 

Staten Island:      February 24

Staten Island Borough Hall

10 Richmond Terrace

Staten Island, NY 10301

 

Bronx:                 February 26

Bronx Borough Hall

851 Grand Concourse

Bronx, NY 10451

 

Manhattan:         March 2

Municipal Building

1 Centre Street, 19th floor South

New York, NY 10007

 

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Contact:  Chancellor’s Press Office (212) 374-5141