Next UFT Solidarity Meeting

For those unaware there is an upcoming UFT Solidarity meeting this Thursday night, January 6, 2023 7 PM EST. The meeting is through Zoom. Here is the link.

Mulgrewcare Thoughts

 I got to give Mike Mulgrew credit for one thing. This passion he is showing to get his way with taking away the rights (and eventually the lives) of retired teachers shows that he can be passionate about something. That he can fight for something when he decides to. That in he does have a set. 

It would sure have been swell if Mulgrew showed the same passion for the last fifteen years as teacher upon teacher has been unceremoniously been dumped on and shat upon. Teachers hit up with trumped up letters to the file, accusations, hearings, and terminations while Mulgrew was silent.

However, Mulgrew is making a mess of this push to Mulgrewcare and he's going to take as many retirees down with him. Either to his level or to their graves. 

But I have been meaning for some time to share what's on my mind about Mulgrewcare. Not to the level of the experts, such as Jonathan, Arthur, James, and Norm. All four of them deal into the nitty gritty as well as numbers and background that I can only dream of doing. 

So just some pertinent thoughts from me concerning this healthcare mess. Let's see if he makes any big purchases in the future. 

1. Why is Mulgrewcare being created from the top down? Why not have all the ducks in a row and then present it to the retirees? Have a list of all the providers, hospitals, pharmacies, et. al. show what's available and at the very least retirees, and future retirees, can see there is a plan (mind you. I am not in favor of Mulgrewcare). 

2. To add on the above, would it not be advantageous to also let retirees know where other than Florida and the Northeast where coverage would be provided? What happens if a retiree moves to California or Montana? Will there still be coverage available? 

A 68 year old family member of mine moved from California to  the middle of nowhere Maine last year. He's on Medicare Advantage. For some reason his policy is still being written out of California. Sadly, he lacks common sense and is having trouble find doctors in Maine to treat his maladies. 

3. To save money why not extend HIP coverage to all employees under 30? Or under 30 and single? Or employees with less than five years in the system? 

Rookies in the NFL and NBA used to get huge contracts until there was a rookie wage scale negotiated. There is precedence. 

4. Combine all the welfare plans into one. Yes, the number of patronage jobs will be affected but I'm sure there are savings to be found. 

5. Look look for savings. For instance, did you know that if an NYPD cop gets injured off the job, be it playing football with the guys, ice skating, heart attack, whatever, that that cop will be paid IN FULL. Yeah, paid in full until healthy and returns to the job. Is this fair? Why can't teachers have this? Sanitation workers? FIX THIS NOW!

6. Demand that Mayor Adams opens the books to the unions. Let's see for sure if the city is hurting.

7. I have heard the uniformed services are against Mulgrewcare. Why have their union leaders been silent thus far? Patrick Lynch has a big mouth and opinion about everything and anything. Why has he been so silent on this?

And last but not least, what is in this for Mulgrew? 

You Won't Believe What Happened to this Teacher

 This story came to the SBSB news desk. This story just happens to come from the same school Lunch Teacher where the ridiculousness happens non-stop. 

Before I continue, I want to emphasize that whenever I blog about a teacher in distress I am sure to receive that teachers permission to do so. Also, I will never name that teacher, nor any teacher. A PSEUDONYM is given to protect said teacher. Some might confuse this with misnaming. It is not. 

Now back to the story. 

Meet Frieda Rabinowitz. She teaches in the same school as the Lunch Teacher. In fact her and the Lunch Teacher co-taught last year. They were a good team. Like Martin and Lewis. Hekyll and Jekyll. Frick and Frack. Lucy and Ethel. Cagney and Lacey. But I digress. 

This year the Dynamic Duo has been separated but not apart. It was arrival time one morning, and Frieda Rabinowitz was heading towards the yard to pick up her class for the 8:00 AM arrival. 

On the way to the yard Frieda walked by the room of the Lunch Teacher and said hello. That was it. Nothing more, nothing less. Little did Frieda Rabinowitz know what was lurking in the hallway. 

Several days later Frieda Rabinowitz was given a two day notice to meet with the "assistant principal" and Frieda's chapter leader. Frieda was perplexed. She was wondering what in the tarnation had she done to warrant such a request. 

The two days came, and Frieda and her chapter leader were in front of the "assistant principal."

What was this horrible, no good, very bad thing that Frieda was summoned for? Frieda was seen by the "assistant principal" at 8:01 AM commiserating with the Lunch Teacher. Never mind the commiseration lasted a nano second and was just to exchange pleasantries. Never mind that each and every clock in the building is not at the correct time. Never mind that there are actually BIGGER CONCERNS to worry about whether or not a teacher is several seconds late getting to the yard. Never mind that he yard is only 10 yards from where Frieda had been commiserating. Never mind that OTHER TEACHERS were still on their way to the yard at 8:01 AM. The "assistant principal"decided to single out Frieda Rabinowitz. 

Oh, did I mention that the "assistant principal" happened to be in the hallway at 8:01 AM, failing to be at her post in the yard at 8:00 AM. Did I mention that the "assistant principal" deemed this professional misconduct on the part of Fried Rabinowitz? YGTBFKM!!!!

Frieda Rabinowitz was doing her commiserating at 7:59 AM. But with all the clocks in all the building having different times how would the "assistant principal" know this? If the "assistant principal"was so sure it was 8:01 AM why were the other teachers not written up? Why was the"assistant principal" not in the yard? 

The Crack Team has some theories. One is that the week before all this mishegoss went down Frieda filed a grievance over a missed prep as IS HER RIGHT! God damn, why do administrators take it so freaking personally when a grievance is filed against them? These are the same people who hide behind the cover of the CSA and would not hesitate to file a grievance if their rights are violated. 

The other theory is that Frieda Rabinowitz has an active PERB case right now. Sadly, the current administration at the school thought nothing better to do than to pour gasoline on the fire. 

I really wish this story could be fiction. But all too often in the DOE it is true. This could not have been handled in a conversation such as....

"Assistant Principal": Hey Frieda. Look, the other day you were talking to the Lunch Teacher and I know you were just saying hi, but please be mindful of the time in the future. I know this has never happened before with you. So just be aware."

Frieda Rabinowitz: Gee, thank you "assistant principal" that was thanks for letting me know. 

They walk off singing kumbaya together.

And scene. 

See? That's leadership. That is how to build comity in the workplace. Think this crap would happen in Scarsdale? Nope. Just because one has a second masters, a title, and a parking spot does not automatically make one a leader. 

Mulgrew's Latest BS

My two cents on this health care thingy. Yes, it has been a while since I have last blogged, but I have

been doing a lot of contemplation. 

 Here's my two cents: Mulgrew is full of shit and we are being played. 

Let me explain.

On October 29 we all received a shrill email from Uncle Mike  telling us that the health care premiums sky is falling...

"The city has dropped a bombshell that puts our premium-free health care in jeopardy. The city’s Office of Labor Relations sent a letter to the head of the Municipal Labor Committee giving the unions notice of its intent to enroll all Medicare‑eligible city retirees in a NYC Medicare Advantage plan and eliminate all other retiree health plans, including GHI SeniorCare. If the unions don’t go along with it, the city has threatened annual health care premiums of roughly $1,500 for all in‑service municipal employees."

Seems like blackmail.

In fact, official UFT Spokesperson Brian Gibbons has shared Mulgrew's the sky is falling shrillery (Which he has been doing ad nauseam on Twitter) (Click photo to enlarge)) ..

The city code that the city wants changed in which Mulgrew is the lead enabler is 12-126. I am not going to go into the details of it. Jonathan Halabi has a great analysis of it on his blog. Check it out here. 

What I will do is opine about Mulgrew's email. 

Mulgrew is full of shit.Trust me, the city did not threaten $1,500 premiums in a vacuum. Mulgrew is in on it. They (The City, Mulgrew, and DC 37) know they are fighting a losing battle to change the code. What better way for the Three Stooges, er, I meant the the three most powerful representatives of the MLC to get the code changed? Fear. Real fear. They know they can't fight the retirees, but now the in service members are being threatened with higher premiums. Members who have 20, 30, 40 years until retirement. Members who can't think that far down the road. 

Our union president who is supposed to be there for the rank and file through thick and thin. Who is supposed to have OUR INTERESTS at the forefront, is yet again is selling us out. Yeah, I know I am preaching to the choir. But this time he is conspiring with the City to use deception, lies, and subterfuge. There is no way, no how Mulgrew and the UFT should be trusted right now with our health care.

What he does not understand is that actually putting the lives of each and every UFT member, and all union members of New York City is serious jeopardy. 

It's once thing to consistently sell us out with our careers. But to toy with peoples lives. Deciding who will live and who will die. Mulgrew went to far this time.

EXCLUSIVE!! FIRST TIME PUBLICLY! Civil Complaint Against District 7 Superintendent Roberto Padilla

Back on July 3, 2022, I introduced to those who read this blog the new

superintendent and overlord of District 7, Roberto Padilla. Just last week, the rather "everything the DOE does is good" New York Post ran this story . The Post was inquiring on why a man with such a checkered past was hired as a superintendent. Soon, The Crack Team got cracking. 

The Crack Team at SBSB has received a copy of the complaint filed against new District 7 superintendent Roberto Padilla and the Newburgh Enlarged City School District. Click this link to read the entire complaint. 

But some highlights, or rather, the lowlights, of the complaint will be shared and deciphered here. But let's set the scene from the complaint...

In or about early June 2021, Defendant Padilla sent out a District wide announcement encouraging all administrators and teachers to attend ASU+GSV Summit (the "Conference"), scheduled for August 9 to 11, 2021 in San Diego. In an email from Defendant Padilla's office to the District advertising the Conference, it was described as, "one of the premier learning summits in the country," stating that applications were handled on a first come, first served basis. Plaintiffs separately submitted an interest form, each explaining how the Conference aligned with their school's goals and instructional focus, and why their attendance would add value to Newburgh.

So let's get this straight. The poverty level in Newburgh is at or below 84.5 percent. There is practically no tax base in Newburgh. Yet, a conference in sunny, oceanfront San Diego is a priority? This reminds me of how in the 90's District 7 went to some conference in Hawaii. 

Plaintiffs both were selected to attend the Conference, and submitted the conference costs of $3,000 which were covered by Newburgh, through their budgets. 32. Upon information and belief, approximately seven (7) District employees attended the Conference. Some of those who attended were also old friends of Defendant Padilla. 33. Upon information and belief, most of the Newburgh attendees stayed at the hotel designated for the Conference, the Marriott Marquis hotel, while Defendant Padilla stayed at a different hotel

Three thousand times 7 people attending is $21k. Did that include meals and the stay at the exclusive Marriott Marquis? 

But here comes something strange...

Plaintiffs received very little communication from Newburgh about what they could expect at the Conference, and the objectives of their attendance for Newburgh. There was no orientation for the Newburgh attendees, and no conversation about how to make the most out of their attendance by, for example, planning who would attend which of the over forty (40) daily events offered at the Conference. Plaintiffs were discouraged by the lack of interest in the Conference demonstrated by Defendant Padilla before and during the event

Was this a true trip for educational purposes or was it just an excuse to spend other people's money and/or do some skirt chasing? 

The night of August 8th, Plaintiffs arrived at a Brazilian steakhouse in San Diego's Gas Light District asking for "AJ," since Defendant Padilla told them the reservation was under that name. At the restaurant, Plaintiffs were surprised to find that "AJ" was the CEO of Innovare, an Ed Tech company that named Defendant Padilla to its Advisory Board in March 2021, and was planning to work with the District. Plaintiffs were confused that Innovare was hosting their group for dinner, and did not understand what connection Innovare had to Newburgh. It appeared as though Defendant Padilla had a close relationship with the Company, but no explanation was provided to the Newburgh group about Innovare's offerings, or why they were being taken to dinner by the Company

Innovare is an app that according to its website, "empowers education leaders to make data-driven decisions that positively impact students and communities." "AJ" is Adrian DeLeon, founder and CEO of Innovare. 

Several takeaways here. Should Roberto Padilla be on an advisory board that the Newburgh schools might be doing business with? And who paid for this dinner? If it was AJ is this permissible under NYS law? And if there were to be some business done between Innovare and Newburgh would it not be more feasible and ethical for Innovare to come to Newburgh? AJ could have splurged at the Denny's on Route 300 instead of the big bucks at the steakhouse. 

The following night, August 9, 2021, the Newburgh attendees gathered at a restaurant where Defendant Padilla had told them to meet. Once there, they were surprised to find that this dinner was sponsored by Rethink Ed, another Ed Tech company. 44. Diana Frezza, an Executive Vice President at Rethink Ed, was ordering food and buckets of sangria for the Newburgh team. Plaintiffs engaged her in conversation and learned who she was, but not why Newburgh was being taken out to dinner. At the end of the dinner, Plaintiffs returned to their hotel.

Drinking with subordinates is never a good idea. People can get stupid. 

So let's turn our attention to some of the proclivities that Roberto Padilla has with women. 

XXXX was sitting on a couch alone when Defendant Padilla sat down right next to her, despite there being other seats available. Defendant Padilla sat on her right side, putting his arm around XXXX, and rubbing his knee against her knee. Padilla had been drinking whiskey cocktails throughout the evening. He appeared intoxicated and was touching her inappropriately. XXXX felt uncomfortable and scared. 

Not cool. One is a supervisor, the other person, a subordinate. Fraternizing with your subordinates is not good and if it has to happen being infused with alcohol is not a good idea. And geez, what is wrong with just having a beer or two? 

Defendant Padilla appeared to grow increasingly intoxicated as the evening continued. Defendant Padilla began commenting on the couple (a male and female) romantically sitting on the couch across from them, stating "we're going to be sociologists." Padilla commented that he and XXXXX were "cock blocking" the couple, meaning their presence was preventing the couple from engaging in sexual activity. Padilla then went on to make sexually explicit noises, orating "a little radio show," creating his own description of the couple's public displays of affection. Padilla then began hypothesizing as to the likelihood that the man would "get lucky" that night.

Defendant Padilla scooted his body towards the front of the couch so his foot was touching Plaintiff XXXXXX's foot. Defendant Padilla then began running his foot across Plaintiff XXXXXX's foot. Plaintiff XXXXXXs legs were crossed at the knee, and Defendant Padilla kicked her foot which made her legs uncross. Plaintiff XXXXXXwas aghast, realizing that her boss was suggestively touching her. 

Defendant Padilla then started talking about XXXXX's tattoo, and he touched her back, slowly tracing his finger over the image of a bird that is part of the tattoo, commenting on the birds "big red ass." 56. XXXX was horrified by Defendant Padilla's comment and by his inappropriate touching of her back. The bottom of the bird in XXXXX's tattoo was not visible, and the bird is dark grey, not red.

And this is the man that is to lead the students, the community, and the teachers of District 7? A man that has no qualms about acting inappropriately with female subordinates. A man who can not control his drinking? A man that appears to have no ethical standards either with subordinates or companies that Newburgh schools do business with? 

Can the the stakeholders of District 7 expect the kind of hijinks that Roberto Padilla exhibited in San Diego? My son is in a frat and everything I just read in the complaint seems right out of a frat house full of twenty somethings. 

District 7 deserves way better. 

The Bullshit Meter

 So last when I blogged I shared how I got written up, with a week left in the school year, for telling a student that I will call home. Today I would like to share the contents of the letter to file I received from Numero Uno. Please be sure you are sitting whilst reading. 

I conclude that you exercised poor judgement in responding to the situation. Specifically, you did not make an attempt to address the female student's discomfort with your proximity.

As I wrote on  July 31...

Immediately the student talked to me as if I were the child. "Move away from me," "I don't want you behind me." For some dumb reason I assumed I am the teacher and the student is a student. I decided not to move due to the belief that once I walked away the student would revert to using the time for socializing instead of classwork. 

However, I wonder if I was part of the favored gentry or a boxer if this would be a problem. 

The letter continues...

Additionally, as an intimidation tactic, you publicly announced to call the student's mother potentially causing her embarrassment.

Intimidation tactic? Anything negative we say to a student can be called an intimidation tactic."I'm changing your PBIS card." "You can't go outside for lunch." "You are on timeout." 

And it goes on...

You are reminded of your obligation to maintain an environment of rapport throughout our school community. Please be advised that this incident may lead to further disciplinary action including termination of your employment.

Blah, blah, blah.

Fuck it. The letter went to my file as an excuse to get rid of me. I get it. 

Calling Home Can Be Career Ending

 On or about June 13, 2022, I received a 48 hour notice to meet with my principal concerning..."VERBAL ABUSE." For several days I wrecked my brain trying to figure out what I could have said. My erstwhile chapter leader assured me not to worry. That if this were real verbal abuse OSI would be taking the lead. 

So we finally meet and I find out what I am being accused of. Before I continue be sure you are sitting down and/or holding onto a loved one. This will be quite shocking to the system. 

I was accused of telling the student that I will call her mother. This shit cannot be made up. 

I told the student I would call the student's mother. Oh the humanity.

All this happened on May 5, 2022. It was a sixth grade class. The students were doing independent work, and I was doing what any teacher would do. I was walking around helping and supporting students. However, this one particular student was not doing the work assigned and instead using the class time as a social gathering with students sitting nearby. 

I decided that since I am the educator and the adult I would do what I learned many years ago. Non-verbal communication. I just walked over and stood behind the student to facilitate the student getting back to work and to end the socializing. 

Immediately the student talked to me as if I were the child. "Move away from me," "I don't want you behind me." For some dumb reason I assumed I am the teacher and the student is a student. I decided not to move due to the belief that once I walked away the student would revert to using the time for socializing instead of classwork. 

The attitude continued. I said if this continues I will call home. Something I have heard and seen in the school all year. Even by the favored gentry. Even the Heavyweight Champion of the school. 

So the meeting was on a Thursday. I wrote this piece on June 19, 2022. Two days later, June 21, 2022 as I was leaving at 2:40 PM EDT I was asked by a secretary (who felt horrible) to sign a letter to my file. I said that I have to get to my per session position and wished to go over the letter with my chapter leader (She was not in that day). I also mentioned I have 24 hours (I could be wrong) and will take care of this matter the following day. 

The very next morning I get called in to meet with Numero Uno. Numero Uno admonishes me for refusing to sign. I never refused to sign I told Numero Uno. I just wished for time to digest and take in the letter (I did make a photo copy). I did bring up that in the letter Numero Uno wrote that I was trying to "intimidate" the student. SMFH!

Have you ever read Chancellor's Regulation A-421? It is so vaguely written that anything can be considered verbal abuse. 

A. Verbal abuse1 is defined as language (written2 or oral) about or directed toward students, that: 

1. Belittles, embarrasses or subjects students to ridicule; or 

2. Has or would have the effect of unreasonably and substantially interfering with a student’s educational performance or ability to participate in or benefit from an educational program, school-sponsored activity or any other aspect of a student’s education; or 

3. Has or would have the effect of unreasonably and substantially interfering with a student’s mental, emotional, or physical well-being; or 

4.Reasonably causes or would reasonably be expected to cause a student to fear for his/her physical safety; or

5. Reasonably causes or would reasonably be expected to cause physical injury or emotional harm to a student.

Where is the line drawn? What happens if I'm talking to a student about baseball? The student tells me they are a Mets fan and I say I am a Yankees fan? Or that the Yankees have owned the Mets for years in New York. Could I be written up?

Can a teacher be written up for telling one student that he or she needs to improve? Or by telling a student that their behavior will keep them in at gym?

What of using ClassDojo? What of any in class behavior chart? 

Funny how Numero Uno decided to write me up while my return to the school was up in the air.