Portelos an ATR as DOE Violates Hearing Officer Mandate - Which is OK With UFT

For those of you who are voting YES on the contract and don't think things can be fixed if we send the negotiating committee back to the bargaining table -- how about all the loopholes and leavouts in our current - and future contract? I have a list - starting with curbing the unfettered power of principals.

Here is the irony that Francesco was the legal chapter leader of IS 49SI, the only bulwark for the staff against a bully principal - who is castigated in the arbitrator's report. So right after the decision basically exonerating him and ordering him to be put back in the classroom in his school, the DOE instigates another battle by removing the legally elected CL (the UFT will just sit by) and making him an ATR with a big target on his back.

As P put it -- they couldn't get him after over 800 days but now the UFT is agreeing to an ATR set-up deal that will allow them to get rid of him in 50 days.

How many principals are out there waiting to put P's pelt on their belt. Imagine how many ways they can create unprofessional behavior -- Portelos -- clean the lunchroom floor with a toothbrush.

Well, the good thing is that P has put everyone on notice - every single thing they pull will be out there for the world to read and yes, if they fool around we will make their names mud.

On the other hand, while P is fighting to get back to his old dysfunctional school (which might be the only sign I've seen of him being nuts) he will be able to traipse around many schools on Staten Island proving to every principal he is not only sane and rational, but an amazing resource -- and this will come back to bite them as their "insanity" campaign will be refuted. Any sane principal would fight to hire him -- but I don't think there are many sane ones around.

How many people have said they made a mistake voting for the 2005 contract?

Truly, here is what I hope -- that people who vote YES for this contract find themselves in this situation and come crying for help and find the UFT won't help. Truly, my response would be FUCK YOU!

FRANCESCO,

You are receiving this email because you are currently in the Absent Teacher Reserve. Included in this email is your school assignment for the upcoming week. You should report to the below location unless you are otherwise notified of an assignment change via atrassignment@schools.nyc.gov or by phone.

Timekeeping and Attendance
Your assignment school is responsible for your timekeeping during this period, so you should provide them with the required documentation pertaining to any absences. If you cannot report for any given day, please contact the school so that they can plan accordingly. If you do not report to your assigned school, you will be marked absent and your timekeeping will be updated.
Below is your official assignment for the period of 5/12/2014 to 5/16/2014.  Please report to the following school:

School InformationSchool: 31R004

School Name: P.S. 004 Maurice Wollin (R004)

Address1: 200 NEDRA LANE, Staten Island, NY 10312

School Phone: 718-984-1197

Contact Name (if applicable): NA

Reporting Instructions
If you have any questions regarding your assignment, please contact HR Connect at 718-935-4000.

Sincerely,
Teacher Hiring Support
NYC Department of Education

Francesco to the union:
Date: Fri, May 9, 2014 at 2:30 PM
Subject: My ATR Assignment
To: mmulgrew@uft.org, epietromonaco@uft.org, Sean Rotkowitz <srotkowitz@uft.org>, Debra Penny <dpenny@uft.org>, Leroy Barr <lbarr@uft.org>, Wendy Star <Wstar@nysutmail.org>, Christopher Callagy <ccallagy@nysutmail.org>, Claude Hersh <chersh@nysutmail.org>, Bryan Glass <bg@glasskrakower.com>

Adam,

    I know you are all busy with contact negotiations, but this needs attention as well. No grievances and all that year long battle to put me back to my original school. I don't want that route.

What I want is see written policy, that can be furnished, that shows the DOE can move me to ATR status after a decision like the one I received.

I was voted chapter leader after my removal.

I dodged three to four recall attempts.

We won an arbitration and supreme court confirmation.

The arbitrator noted my cordial and professional in person meeting the principal.

Please keep me in the loop of communication with the department.

Again...no grievance. PERB.

Francesco Portelos
Parent
Educator
IS 49 UFT Chapter Leader
educatorfightsback.org
Mrportelos.com

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Portelos Verdict - Despite Enormous DOE Assault and Expense....

Respondent’s admissions, conduct, demeanor and demonstrated commitment to education persuade me that, if given the chance, he can resume his career as a highly effective educator. Finally, the record is replete with evidence of Respondent’s exceptional teaching and abilities from the administration, colleagues, parents and students. After two years of reassignment, it is important that Respondent be returned to the classroom. ... Hearing Officer

We are gratified to report that Francesco Portelos has received his verdict and is still standing. Few would have predicted he would survive a massive assault by DOE Legal, which spent enormous sums to try to get him fired and walks away with a fine - which by the way is still outrageous. But I do get that the hearing officer had to give the DOE something if she wants to continue working. Given their zeal to terminate him, she still may be in danger -- and I will say, all of us found her to very fair and run an excellent ship over 23 days of hearings. I attended 12 days of the hearings and other MOREista retirees were there more often than I. I have 75 pages of notes but I guess they are no longer important.

Now we must help him fight to make sure the DOE follows the orders of the hearing officer and puts him back in his old school and not push him into the ATR pool where we now know that the new contract makes him extremely vulnerable with a big target on his back.

Here is his post:

New post on Educator Fights Back

DOE vs Portelos Termination Verdict Is In 826 Days After They Took Aim to Fire. by Francesco Portelos

I want to say that I write this with overwhelming glee. I want to say that I write this while in a state of euphoria and with a Kool-Aid smile, but unfortunately I cannot.

Read more of this post

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Portelos Arrested and Released After 30 Hours in Holding Cell As Asst. DA Tosses Case

Note to DOE Legal: How do you spell D-I-S-B-A-R?
Ramifications of tactic of having teachers arrested for fighting back will be felt.

I can just imagine the judge getting as big a laugh as Francesco got as he snookered DOE Legal into taking an outrageous action against him by involving the NYCPD in what was clearly a joke posting that he hacked into the DOE payroll system and gave himself a raise claiming he hacked in using Dennis Walcott's logon using the password kittensRcute. (How to “Hack” the DOE Payroll Portal and Give Yourself a Raise).

That either sent the crack DOE tech team into a panic given they seem to think Portelos can control their computers using smoke and mirrors. Or the real panic may be DOE legal thinks it will lose the case and not get Portelos terminated, so they came up with this attempted scam, which P is adding to his federal lawsuit. The boy may own the DOE by the time he is finished, and maybe part of the NYPD.

At first I felt P had gone too far with his post, given that he was expecting a ruling on his case. I urged him to keep this stuff under wraps until his decision came through. But when he pointed out that a Louis Scarcella like detective was apparently working as an agent of DOE legal by going after teachers who defended themselves things began to fall into place.

Will Portelos end  up owning this apartment?

In another breaking development he just informed us that SCI has backed his claims that the DOE was lying when it claimed he used his computers at work for his real estate business, something we heard repeatedly from DOE Legal attorney Jordana Shenkman, hopefully soon to be disbarred.

SCI just released a statement indicating the real estate files were not found on my desktop but rather printed from the internet. http://bit.ly/1fqlESa

Portelos 3020 a Proceeding letter - 3 11 14-1.pdf

dropbox.com

Here are some of his postings on Facebook.

Francesco ForEducation Portelos  
Thank you all for your concern and texts. Just got out of jail around 7pm. Was arrested Monday morning due to trumped up charges by the DOE lawyers and held for 33 hrs. Sleeping on cell floor and handcuffed was an experience. The DA dismissed all charges.
 
Thanks everyone. We are adding to Federal lawsuit. Break me? I was lying on the filthy floor smiling thinking what wall I will post the shields and law degrees of those involved. As I was finally called out to leave, cell mate gave me fist bumps and one yelled out. "Don't forget to write about us teach. Keep fighting."

There is a Panel for Educational Policy meeting at Prospect Hts HS Tuesday March 18 at 6PM. Maybe call on Farina to wipe out DOE Legal and start all over again so they can go after teachers who should not be in the classroom, instead of whistle blowers.

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Portelos on SCI Lies

If you had sat through the 23 day3020a trial and listened to the evidence, there were many "break out laughing" moments at the farce the DOE was engaging in. But more of that another time.

Many people who have dealt with the office of the Special Commissioner of Investigations (SCI), which goes after school employees, don't believe there are
honest brokers there.

SCI is not the same as OSI, the internal DOE investigations unit, also not a clean organization (one day I'll tell you of my only brush with them back in the early 90s). Dirty detective Louis Scarcella even worked at OSI for a spell.

Francesco Portelos has gotten to know many of the people working at SCI (and OSI) through their endless investigations of him. Here he does an 8-part series delving into the details of their often bogus investigation.

Here are links to his report. They are detailed accounts, ie. of how he disconnected the wires and shut everything off in his computer room for the midwinter break 2 years ago, only to find his computer plugged in and turned on the day he returned. Or stuff that appeared on his computer AFTER they confiscated it.

When I contacted SCI on January 26, 2012, I did not have negative items in my file. A few days later I started having disciplinary letters and investigations started on me. SCI did not take my allegation of financial misconduct. When I met with UFT reps and I told them of my complaint, their words were “Oh crap…they are going to have the whole terrorist hit squad coming for you!” I didn’t know what they meant, but I know now and so should you.

This is what I have found during my journey:

Part 1: The Special Commissioner of Investigation’s Hand is in the Pocket of the Chancellor?
Part 2: A Tale of Two Videos
Part 3: Principal, Playboy and NY Post…Oh My!
Part 4: $ubpoena with a Capital $
Part 5: Faulty Investigations
Part 6: Making It Rain
Part 7: Using 7yr Old Vista to Monitor Portelos
Part 8: Planting Files and Confiscating Computers
You are mandated to report, but contact SCI with extreme caution and follow the Educator Survival Guide

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Portelos Update, Farina Visits His School Today as He Undergoes Cross Examination Across From Tweed

Termination for what?...blowing the whistle on corruption at the school she is visiting. I hope she is aware and helps address the issues that have plagued my neighborhood school.... Francesco Portelos

Today is another day of cross examination. Instead of going to IS 49 Farina should stop and watch this farcical waste of money as DOE Legal's Jordanna Shenkman flails around trying to find chinks in Portelos' armor. Farina would learn much more about IS 49 if she walked across the street from Tweed and sat in on these hearings.

My bad back that I hurt when I fell on the ice 3 weeks ago healed and I finally managed to get back to the hearings on Tuesday. I missed most of his testimony and some of the cross examination. Tuesday had a number of almost laugh out loud moments watching Jordanna incompetently try to frame questions meant to catch Portelos in a lie. She badgered him over whether he used the word alleged when he wrote about people under investigation and when he tried to say he used allegedly she said "I asked you Yes or No -- did you use alleged"? I had to cover my mouth.

She has no interest in truth or what really happened. I know people think the prosecutor is supposed to do that but this is not about trying to put someone away for murder. She is just trying to play "gotcha." And not succeeding. At times she is coy -- purposely not showing Portelos a document to refresh his memory, hoping to catch him in a lie.

Some of her ridiculous questions need some explanation because there is not a simple answer. "Please instruct the witness to answer my question" or "witness is non-responsive" she whines to the hearing officer continuously.

Here is his most recent email:

 
Principal just sent an email out that Chancellor Fariña will be visiting my school tomorrow. I sent the chancellor and mayor an email the other day about issues. I wonder if it is related. Maybe not, however I will not be there as I will be across the street from her office being cross examined for the 4th day and present at the 19th day of my termination hearing. Termination for what?...blowing the whistle on corruption at the school she is visiting. I hope she is aware and helps address the issues that have plagued my neighborhood school.

Francesco Portelos

Parent
Educator

IS 49 UFT Chapter Leader

educatorfightsback.org
Mrportelos.com

Here are some notes some of my MORE colleagues took when I was not able to attend.

I haven't been able to attend the hearings over the past few weeks - I was hoping to go today but have to drive a friend to the doctor. But here are some comments - anonymous -- and also some commentary from some MOREistas who did attend.

3 Anonymous comments on your post "Francesco Portelos: Teacher Under Assault by Princ...":

I was a member of SLT at IS49 as the title 1 rep. If Ms. Hill didn't like my questions and didn't want to answer them, she would act like a 12yr old and say, "you know ms. wright, i'm really trying to get along with you." if she made a face or disliked any of my questions then she had her puppets chime in and attack me with negative comments and discouraging me from asking or speaking my mind. she demanded 1500 dollars from the title 1 money ASAP. I told her I needed to speak with higher ups and she quoted me again with, u know ms. wright, i'm really trying to get a long with you. and asking me who do I need to speak with and when will I get back to her. I told her Tuesday, which was two days later and she huffed and puffed like she was going to blow me down. when saturday rolled around she sent me an email telling me to disregard her request.



I was the title 1 rep and when I asked a question at the PTA meeting about the safe room, I was told at an executive meeting that was set up to intimidate me from asking negative questions in front of parents. I was told by sherina peterkins the so called president of the PTA and the so called leader in charge, Ms. Hill, that I am to stop whatever I am doing and ask ms. hill these questions in her office. that if my question is personal that I am to go to the principal in private. you stupid clowns, my son goes to your school and everything that happened or happens in this school is personal to me. I told them whatever. that if I want to ask a question I will ask it at the PTA.


I was harassed by ms. hill's security officers. she had only two black females escorting me around like I was a criminal. everyone else walked in that school with no escorts except me. I called mike riley to complain. it stopped for 2 weeks and started up again. this was all because ms. hill didn't like that I was asking a lot of questions about the budget, the title 1 funds, questioning the CFN and just asking positive questions about the kids' welfare when it came to education. as a title 1 rep I was treated like shit. but I didn't care because I knew that heifer couldn fire me. one time even one of the officers interpreted for me in English back to English. go figure. I have a lot of stories about this piece of shit school

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Portelos Update: A Para for the Defense, Part 2

The story below is a warning to anyone who might think that taxpayer supported DOE Legal has any interest in the truth.

Part 1 is here: Portelos Update: A Para for the Defense, DOE Pulls Race Card, Theresa Europe Sits in to Intimidate Hearing Officer


PORTELOS HEARING DEC. 18, 2013

CROSS EXAMINATION by DOE Legal Jordana Shenkman –

JS: U heard rumors of Apr 2011 meeting P brought up safety concerns – u weren’t there to hear who brought what up and based on hearsay –U didn’t hear admin response – CS: “they don’t talk to us”
JS: U don’t say hello to Hill – 
CS: she doesn’t say hello to us. Majority of tchrs said – she didn’t --- I took it personal – but told to get used to it.
None of admin said hello to most teachers – I stopped taking it personal

JS: you say people at schl afraid of Admin – are u aware of people afraid of P? 
CS: NOT ONE.
JS: You say safety not being addressed at school – 
CS: I KNOW IT.
JS: That didn’t stop u from sneaking in 2 strange men thru back door not through schl security?
OBJ from Chris Callegy: – You don’t get to make things up. No foundation for your question. 

Now you have to follow the bouncing ball of Shenkman's outrageous (and embarrassing - to her) question about 2 strange men sneaking through security. Shenkman made a big point that they did not sign in - making it look like a criminal act. And also Shenkman's attempt to make it appear CS was disciplined for doing so. The real story came out under Chris C's cross. I'll paraphrase.

CS had bought a small refrigerator for the office she shared and brought her husband and his friend to the school to take it down to his car. [CS was leaving the school permanently and it was the end of the school year.] He drove up to the front of the school but the custodian told him to drive to the loading dock where the door would be open which it was. As they walked two of the AP'S were there and saw them and said nothing. CS took them to security where the guard did not have passes handy and also said she knows CS' husband so she waved them through without signing in.

Principal Linda Hill, vindictive in every way, got in touch CS' district 75 principal who had to take his valuable time to look at the video tape and then told CS not to go back to the school again for the final few days.

She was never disciplined in any way.

The story above is a warning to anyone who might think that taxpayer supported DOE Legal has any interest in the truth.

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Portelos Update: A Para for the Defense, DOE Pulls Race Card, Theresa Europe Sits in to Intimidate Hearing Officer

There was only fear of the administration. YES everyone is in fear of them, not Portelos. .. former Para, IS 49SI.

According to Shenkman, a para - with a high school education - and a parent with 5 kids of her own - is not qualified to make a judgement as to whether someone is a good teacher. What arrogance and elitism. ... Report from Portelos hearing, Dec. 18

I finally was able to attend the 14th day of the Portelos 3020a hearing after missing the last few. Today there will be another and more after the holidays. For DOE lawyers and subsidiaries: ka-ching - At the afternoon session there were 4 DOE lawyers taking part, including Slug in Chief, Theresa Europe, who was there to make sure DOE Legal Slugette, Jordana Shenkman, pulled the race card with vigor (she did). But that was in the afternoon.

I'll do a follow-up about the afternoon testimony where we watched in amusement (and horror) as DOE legal beagle Shenkman pulled the race card on a Portello witness, as they had previously tried to do on Portelos himself - (also pulling the anti-semitic card on him). Shenkman should never be allowed into a China shop.

One thing is clear from these hearings: The absolute incompetence of IS 49 SI principal Linda Hill who everyone at the DOE seems to know is incompetent but is being protected by assaulting Portelos, who once he came under attack struck back with a vengeance. It is that vengeance he is being charged with while they try to bury the attack on him. I'll get more into the weeds in future posts.

A Para for the Defense

First to the morning testimony of a very strong witness for Portelos, a District 75 para (initials CS) at IS 49 who has since transferred to another school, who stood up to every attempt by Shenkman to break her, including an attempt so clumsy we had to hold our sides to keep from laughing out loud.

CS was a management para who followed the children she worked with from class to class through the day (except gym).

On Portelos as a teacher

Worked with him every year. Judgement of him as a teacher – very impressed – always put nice spin on teaching – kids very attentive. He gave Dist. 75 kids extra attention – especially one child with extreme difficulties. The kids were always orderly and listened to him.
Colleague to colleague he was very easy to work with – he once did rocket ships in school yard and included me, making me feel very much part of the lesson.
CC: Was it remarkable to be included by a teacher? CS: Yes [P was different from other teachers in the way he treated paras as equals.]

Shenkman OBJECTIONS and Cross Examination on this point alone:
 - anything you saw a first yr probat tchr do is not relevant (referring to how he treated one special ed child years ago when P was a new teacher). Then this from Shenkman:

JS: Not part of your resp to observe or eval tchrs.

CS: No.

JS: What is your ed degree?

CS: None. HS diploma.
JS: Was it your job to pay attention to special needs students – your job to stay focused on them – get them started with work – [meaning she couldn't know what kind of teacher P was if she was focusing on her job]

CS: I always instructed to help all public school children not just mine.
JS: You saw P one per a day – 8 periods – for 7 per follow assigned student – you didn’t see P teach other 7 periods.

According to Shenkman, a para - with a high school education - and a CS is also a parent with 5 kids of her own - is not qualified to make a judgement as to whether someone is a good teacher. What arrogance and elitism.

Note to Jordana Shenkman: Paraprofessionals are education professionals with the ability to make a judgement as to what good teaching is.

Jordana Shenkman with less qualifications to judge a teacher's competency than CS feels perfectly free to judge Portelos as not competent to teach (as she tried to prove by calling a network curriculum support person who was sent in to do a hit job).


How principal Linda Hill treated the staff
This testimony was so strong on how Linda Hill has run IS 49. (When the hearing is over we will print the transcripts). If a teacher said good morning Hill would not respond. "It was that way from the day I set foot in the school. At first I though it was personal but I was told she treats everyone that way so get over it."

We needed help – kids hitting teachers, wallet stolen –and we can’t report it - teachers crying – fear – always the principal against us – I worked in other schools – administration and teachers always worked together.

When there was a problem did you speak to Hill?

"She was unapproachable – she locked herself in her office all day."

On Portelos as a colleague

Shenkman: Are you aware of people having nervous breakdowns over fear of P or crying in hall? People filing police reports for fear of P? 

CS: NO.

JS: You weren’t aware in fear of P stalking or following them? 

CS: There was only fear of the administration. YES everyone is in fear of them not Portelos.

On the April 2011 meeting where Portelos first spoke up about the safety issue:

CS: I wasn't at the meeting but the school was buzzing.
Did u hear what P did? He stood up and said things about security and safety of building? I said to him you are so young and naive – I knew there would be retaliation.
P told me – what do u mean? I spoke the truth.
But you opened can of worms – everyone should be backing you. I was very concerned he was going to be a target. He led everyone to be able to say something.

This was April 2011, 6 months before things began to blow up. And when they did in January 2012,

CS: I spoke to R(another para) – this is all because P spoke up at that (April 2011) meeting.

There's more to this testimony where Shenkman made an outrageous attempt to discredit CS, an attempt crude and truly disgusting. And how her D. 75 admins backed her all the way. Best to do that in a separate post.

And then there is the afternoon disgusting stuff where the hearing officer, maybe hoping to impress Theresa Europe, made an outrageous decision to allow a racist neo-Nazi publication that intentionally misquoted a Portelos witness into official evidence. Portelos lawyer Chris Callegy is usually a cool customer but in this case he was livid.

READ Portelos' latest post on his blog (he is gagged from commenting on the hearings until they end):

DOE’s Digital Duct Tape

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Updated: Ruling on Portelos Right to Attend SLT Meetings as Chapter Leader

Jeff Kaufman reports another nail in the rights of the union at EdLawFaqs blog. 

This ruling impacts on the rights of the teachers to have an effective chapter leader. The fact that Portelos has to hold meetings through Skype and by standing in front of the school should be challenged by the UFT. I think that may be a separate issue.

This ruling says: [T]he law is well settled that the courts may not overturn the decision of an administrative agency which has a rational basis and was not arbitrary and capricious.

But what if the decision to remove Portelos from the school WAS "arbitrary and capricious," something not yet decided? That is the essence of the Portelos defense.




Portelos did have a court win recently as chronicled on his blog: http://protectportelos.org/breaking-news-supreme-court-judge-confirms-portelos-uft-arbitration-win/ where the DOE  legal has refused to recognize him as the elected CL and when the arbitrator ruled in his favor they did not honor that, forcing him to go to court. How is that ruling affected by this one?
 
Here is Jeff's summary and a link to his blog.

Can a Chapter Leader, excluded from his school pending disciplinary charges, be prevented from attending School Leadership Team meetings?

Posted on November 30, 2013

Yes. Francesco Portelos, the duly elected Chapter Leader at IS 49 in Staten Island, was reassigned pending a SCI investigation and, by letter, notified that he was not to return to IS 49 without prior written permission and that any school activities he had participated in would remain suspended until the resolution of the matter.

As Chapter Leader Portelos is a mandated member of the School Leadership Team and commenced an Article 78 proceeding to challenge his exclusion from the Team. Justice Cynthia Kern initially ruled that the petition was time-barred since it was filed almost one year after he was excluded from the meetings.

Kern ruled that even if the petition was timely she would denied the relief requested because DOE’s policy of exclusion was rational and in accordance with its policies and procedures. Chancellor’s Regulation A-655 provides that mandatory members attend the meetings the regulation “does not confer a right upon such member if they are prohibited from entering the school or participating in school activities due to administrative reassignment and/or pending charges of misconduct.”

Portelos also argued that the school violated the Open Meetings Law, POL Section 103 by excluding him. Kern ruled that School Leadership Teams were advisory in nature and not subject to the Open Meetings Law.

Read the case here:  Portelos v. NYCDOE

This ruling has no effect on the current hearing to fire him  - there are 2 dates scheduled this week and I'll try to get to an in-depth update on the Portelos hearing.

Here's the point -- even if he wins on every single charge, the DOE STILL claims the right to ban him permanently from his school and turn him into an ATR. The UFT doesn't even fight these decisions, saying that if a 3020a is won by the teacher, all the DOE has to do is give than a job not their old job back (Christine Rubino after a two-year suspension without pay is sitting in an office). And if that job is washing the floors with a toothbrush, that is probably OK too.

The courts are basically stacked against us even if a teacher wins once in a while, which is why when people press for spending lots of dough on high-priced lawyers, I urge caution. The way to stop this is to take a weak-kneed union and turn it into a tiger. And that means organizing people into a potent force inside the union.

Sermon of the day over.

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Portelos Update: Supreme Court Rules Against DOE Refusal to Recognize Him as Chapter Leader

New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) filed a Motion to Confirm the arbitration. Today we just found that Supreme Court Judge Joan B. Lobis confirmed the arbitration award. The DOE lawyers will have a chance to appeal and most likely they will try....
This win should set precedent for all targeted chapter leaders. If someone thinks they can attack a chapter leader and wrongly accuse them so they are removed, they should now think again. Sending them to the Rubber Room (that doesn’t exist) will not prevent them from acting as such… Francesco Portelos

The DOE Legal breaks new ground every day in the Portelos case. Like their claim they can overturn the election of a chapter leader. First they refuse to recognize his election. He files grievances. He loses because the DOE controls these rulings. The UFT takes the case to arbitration. The arbitrator rules in his favor.

See: June 6 2013 -Big Arbitration Win for School Community IGNORED BY DOE

The DOE refuses to accept an arbitrator's decision? Isn't that what Campbell Brown is calling on them to do? And they can do it? Exactly when do they get punished for this behavior? How about a massive fine? What is the point of going through step after step and having the legal decisions ignored?

Next it is off to Supreme Court where today he won -- again. And they can still appeal? And spend taxpayer money doing it? WHERE IS THE PRESS?

But here is the best part for me. The school has safety violations - a good chapter leader is often the agent charged with making the school safe and the DOE doesn't worry about issues like the safety of the children when they are on their witch hunts.

Even before I took office I was raising legitimate concerns at IS 49. Once I became chapter leader, I at least had the UFT/DOE contract to back me. However, the DOE refused to adhere to our contract. I filed many grievances last year. They were denied by Principal Linda Hill and Office of Labor Relations reps (aka David Brodsky esq.)

But nothing stops Portelos. Last Friday was a hearing date. Before the hearing here is what he did:

Last Friday I held a UFT meeting at my school using Skype video calling and a projector. With this win, I should be able to function like all other Chapter Leaders and not need to do that again.

 I wouldn't bet on it yet even with a court victory. Even if he wins his case they will violate basic rights and won't put him back in his school but make him an ATR. How the hell can they get away with that? DOE Legal are a bunch of crooks and violators of the law. They should be disbarred.

Here is his blog post today.

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