SCHENECTADY Board won’t release report on Raucci case BY MICHAEL GOOT Gazette Reporter Gazette reporter Steven Cook contributed to this story. Reach Gazette reporter Michael Goot at 395-3105 or mgoot@dailygazette. net.
The Schenectady City School District has denied a Freedom of Information Law request from The Daily Gazette seeking a copy of an investigation into former facilities director Steven Raucci. The Gazette had asked for a copy of an investigation conducted by Rachel Rissetto, who was hired by the district to find out whether Raucci sexually harassed and demeaned colleagues and if school officials knew about it but did not act. Raucci is facing terrorism and arson charges for allegedly planting explosive devices as part of a pattern of harassment. No one was ever injured. The Board of Education in April hired Rissetto at a rate of $100 an hour to focus just on the workplace allegations against Raucci. In a letter received Tuesday, school board Clerk Richard Yager wrote that the records are not required to be made available to the public. He cited exceptions in the Freedom of Information Law that “there would be an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy if this were disclosed” and that the document “is an intra-agency report which is not statistical or factual tabulation or data; not instruction to staff; and is not a final agency policy or determination.” President Jeff Janiszewski said that circumstances have changed since the time when the Board of Education commissioned the report; namely, people have since announced intentions to bring a lawsuit against the district. Harold and Deborah Gray, Ryan Rakoske, Laura Balogh and Joseph Scotti are all seeking permission to sue the district, alleging that administrators knew about Raucci’s behavior and took no action. Janiszewski said this litigation complicates matters and may limit what the district can release. The board reviewed what Janiszewski called a draft of Rissetto’s report in executive session on June 18. Janiszewski said one of the issues is whether the information in the report would be part of a person’s personnel file and subject to protection under FOIL. “Frankly, it’s up to the lawyers what we can and can’t do with that,” he said. ...........>>>>............>>>>......................>>>>........http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....amp;EntityId=Ar01301
Lack of buyout clause in Ely’s contract is shocking
In response to one of my question's raised at the June 24 Schenectady school board meeting, the district's attorney stated that there is no buyout provision in the superintendent's new contract. I am shocked, shocked, by this glaring omission! The single most important responsibility of a school board member is to recruit, retain and remove, if necessary, the superintendent of schools. This transcends even their fiscal and programmatic duties. Thus, the lack of a buyout clause in any such contract is incompetence at best and malfeasance at worst. Is there no end to this all? And so it goes.
WILLIAM MCCOLL Schenectady The writer is a former member of the Niskayuna school board.
Schenectady board to pick leadership Amid turmoil, city school board to choose president and VP tonight
By LAUREN STANFORTH, Staff writer First published in print: Wednesday, July 1, 2009
SCHENECTADY -- The city school board will choose a president and vice president at its organizational meeting tonight, a pivotal decision following six months of turmoil in the district.
Talk around the community points to a few different scenarios, most of which involve Jeff Janiszewski possibly stepping down as school board president, a position he's held since 2004.
Tensions in the district have been high, particularly after the arrest in February of former facilities supervisor Steven Raucci for allegedly planting explosive devices at the homes of his perceived enemies. Residents have questioned whether school leaders knew about Raucci's alleged misconduct. But the board has remained silent, citing personnel matters and legal action filed against the district by former Raucci employees.
People expressed their displeasure with the board during the May vote, in which two new board members not endorsed by Janiszewski won.
Emotions boiled over at last week's board meeting after Janiszewski did not want to allow public comment when the board extended Superintendent Eric Ely's contract to 2012.
New school board members Diane Herrmann and Joyce Wachala said Janiszewski should not have his presidency renewed. Wachala said she will nominate a new president tonight, but she would not say whom it will be. She said she will not nominate herself.
"To keep the same that's been going on for the past couple of years is not my idea of a good thing," Wachala said.
Some observers have wondered if board members Maxine Brisport and Gary Farkas positioned themselves to be elected to leadership roles when they were the only board members to vote against Ely's contract extension.
Brisport said her vote had no political motivation. She said she's not seeking the role of president or vice president.
However, she said if others want to nominate her, she won't reject it. The vice presidency is open because John Mitchell did not seek re-election.
If Maxine Brisport is serious about restoring credibility to this horrible City School Bored the best thing she can do is resign. Maxine for President? Of what? Take Farkas, Jiffy Jeffy and Lisa Russo with you out the door. TONIGHT
Big Meeting tonight 8pm, Black Box theatre-former Linton High School. See you there-seating limited-come early. Look for every decision made at the last illegal meeting to be overturned and idiots finally fired.
Mr. McCool is right. If only the City could aspire to be half as great as the Nisky district. Stop yelling over the peeps and for once LISTEN. The school attorney refused to fire an employee in prison? Authorized this whitewash investigation that no one can see? Every day another outrage. No bottom to this-no end in sight.
I find it almost 'shocking' , to read how this school board continues to move forward like NOTHING has ever happened. And what I find even MORE shocking , is how the resident taxpayers just sit back and say nothing! ARE THEY STUPID, ON DRUGS, OR JUST DON'T GIVE A DAMN? Or perhaps the majority of them are waiting in the dss line signing up for their welfare checks.
YUP....just the way the libs want it. Keep them dumb, dependent and in the dark. That is the recipe for a power grabbing statist, socialist dictatorship!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
I find it almost 'shocking' , to read how this school board continues to move forward like NOTHING has ever happened. And what I find even MORE shocking , is how the resident taxpayers just sit back and say nothing! ARE THEY STUPID, ON DRUGS, OR JUST DON'T GIVE A DAMN? Or perhaps the majority of them are waiting in the dss line signing up for their welfare checks.
YUP....just the way the libs want it. Keep them dumb, dependent and in the dark. That is the recipe for a power grabbing statist, socialist dictatorship!
the best control is not to pass on wisdom/knowledge.....instincts to survive will always prevail even at the most base levels.......
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
Schenectady school board gets new leaders Thursday, July 2, 2009 By Michael Goot (Contact) Gazette Reporter
SCHENECTADY — New leadership took over the Board of Education on Wednesday as Maxine Brisport was elected president and new member Diane Herrmann took over as vice president. Herrmann also made an unsuccessful motion to rescind the board’s approval last week of contract extensions for several top administrators, including Superintendent Eric Ely. Others who got extensions were William Roberts, assistant superintendent for operations; Associate Superintendent and High School Principal Gary Comley; Human Resources Director Michael Stricos; Chief Technology Officer Lawrence Murphy; and School Attorney Shari Greenleaf. Herrmann said there was no urgency to the board’s action since the contracts were not due to expire until 2010 or 2011. Former President Jeff Janiszewski took issue with both the timing and the legality of the motion. He said five “yes” votes were needed to waive the rule that requires motions to be presented to the board more than 48 hours ahead of time. In addition, he believed it would be “illegal as hell” to rescind contracts that have already been signed. “My motion is not ‘illegal as hell,’ ” responded Herrmann, a practicing attorney. “If it’s not,” countered Janiszewski, “there’s going to be problems between boards and superintendents throughout the state because none of their contracts are going to be worth anything.” Greenleaf advised postponing any motion to rescind until the board receives legal counsel. She said ethically she could not offer legal counsel on the merits of the motion because her contract was one of the ones that was extended. The board voted 5-2 against waiving the 48-hour rule, with Herrmann and fellow new member Joyce Wachala voting in favor. Herrmann is free to place it on the agenda of the next meeting, set for Aug. 26 at the high school. Herrmann’s motion came at the end of a busier-than-usual organizational meeting. About 60 people attended the two-hour meeting at Schenectady High School’s Black Box Theatre. Three candidates were nominated for president. Herrmann nominated Brisport, Wachala nominated Herrmann and board member James Casino nominated Janiszewski. Casino credited Janiszewski for his “ability to motivate others to work together to achieve common goals.” Janiszewski said he would decline the nomination after serving as president for five years. He said he believes the board has done good work raising academic achievement and improving school safety. He said it has been a difficult year, alluding to all the recent controversies, and said he was tired and a “fresh start” is needed. “The president takes most of the media calls, whatever the board does. I have been a victim of character assassination by [Gazette columnist] Carl Strock for months now. He lied about me and my wife in his last column. It goes with the turf, I guess,” he said. The motion to elect Brisport carried 6-1, with Wachala voting against it.................>>>>.............................>>>>.....................http://www.dailygazette.com/news/2009/jul/02/0702_board/
Re June 24 article, "Board extends school official terms": The undeserved gifts handed to the Janiszewski-Ely gang by the Schenectady school board are pure larceny against the taxpayer. The board calling them "contract extensions" is an Orwellian abuse of language, as if there were some equity in the bargain between these five and the public. They are 24-karat golden parachutes, and they will be deployed at the seemingly inevitable time in the future when the reprobates are terminated. The more time there is to "buy out," the more money the taxpayers will have to pay them to pack up and leave.
“If it’s not,” countered Janiszewski, “there’s going to be problems between boards and superintendents throughout the state because none of their contracts are going to be worth anything.”
pretty telling statement......
worth anything by who's standard???
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
I am wondering why anyone would question the Schenectady school board's decision to extend the contracts of the superintendent and five administrators [June 24 Gazette]. They all serve at the pleasure of the school board and I would guess they pleased the board. Never mind that the board president's wife got a job with the district, never mind that the graduation rate is now the lowest in the area, never mind that there was a loose cannon in charge of buildings and grounds without taking an exam, never mind that same facilities supervisor intimidated co-workers, never mind that an administrator did not forward papers to Civil Service, never mind the low test scores and lack of accountability and secrecy. All this must have pleased the board!
By MARV CERMAK First published in print: Tuesday, June 30, 2009 Lots of blame to go around on schools mess
People I know in various Capital Region communities tell me they can't understand how the Schenectady City School District became such a mess.
An administrator/alleged strong-arm bomber terrorizing employees, a contingency budget with a tax hike three times the size of a voted-down budget, nepotism, suicides, gang violence. You couldn't make all this up.
There is plenty of blame to go around. Start with the school board, which is guilty of at least nonfeasance for doing nothing to right the budget and personnel wrongs.
State Education Department bureaucrats are at fault for sitting on the sidelines sucking their thumbs while all the problems unfolded.
Shockingly, the state didn't even speak out when the district announced its bogus contingency budget. Silence even though the state funds more than 60 percent of the district budget.
Then there are the city voters. Only about 1,900 of 30,000 registered voters have been going to the polls for school elections. The school board, knowing the many years of pathetic public apathy, did whatever it pleased. Of course, some folks involved in the above categories will place the blame on the news media for reporting all the negative events that took place.
Carl Strock THE VIEW FROM HERE Sch’dy school probe: Try to see it Carl Strock can be reached at 395-3085 or by e-mail at carlstrock@dailygazette.com.
Transparent ... transparent ... transparent. Let me think, who was it who said transparent? Oh, yes, I remember. It was Jeff Janiszewski, then-president of the Schenectady school board, back in March, when the board announced it would investigate the doings of its former buildings-and-grounds chief, Steve Raucci. Raucci had recently been arrested on charges of arson, vandalism and even terrorism, and the district attorney had suggested that certain unnamed “higher-ups” in the school district were “beholden to him,” implying that Raucci might have enjoyed protection as he bullied and harassed his subordinates. So to clear the air, supposedly, the board voted to hire an outside investigator to look into Raucci’s alleged misconduct on the job, though not his alleged crimes, which remain the province of the district attorney. “It’s the board and superintendent’s sincerest hope that a complete, diligent and transparent investigation, followed by appropriate response, will maintain the community’s confidence in the school district,” Janiszewski said at the time. So where do we stand with this transparent investigation, which cost the people of Schenectady $100 an hour, and where do we stand with the appropriate response? Well, the board received a written report from the investigator on June 18, which might have been the final report or might have been an “update,” as Janiszewski claimed, and spent at least three hours reviewing it behind closed doors, without a word or a peep to the public. Second, the school district has denied my Freedom of Information request for a copy of that report on the grounds that it falls within an exception to the Freedom of Information Law as being either “an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy,” which I think is really rich, or “an intra-agency report which is not statistical or factual tabulation of data” (parroting the law) or “not a fi nal agency policy or determination.” So that’s where we stand: shades drawn. I ran this matter by Bob Freeman, executive director of the state Committee on Open Government, and he assured me the school district’s position is rubbish. The sum and substance is that the school district can plausibly withhold from the public only “opinions or recommendations” contained in the report, but not factual information, regardless of whether it’s a fi nal report or just a draft. “I can’t imagine this report is not replete with factual information,” Freeman said. As for an invasion of privacy, he said, “I guess the investigator talked to a lot of people . . . their names or other identifying details might justifi - ably [be] deleted.” But, “the school district is required to review every line in that report to determine which portions if any can justifiably be withheld,” he said. “They can’t just deny the whole thing.” So naturally I will appeal, and we’ll see how this plays out, but there you have another example of the airy disregard for law with which the Schenectady school district operates, not to mention airy disregard for the board president’s own fi ne promises. ...............>>>>.............>>>>..........http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....amp;EntityId=Ar01100
“If it’s not,” countered Janiszewski, “there’s going to be problems between boards and superintendents throughout the state because none of their contracts are going to be worth anything.”
pretty telling statement......
worth anything by who's standard???
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
Schenectady school board proceedings are no laughing matter
Re June 24 article, “Board extends school official terms”: For two decades I’ve wondered why our schools have not returned to the policy I recall of teaching and/or reinforcing standards of “proper behavior,” sometimes known as “manners.” The answer to that was provided June 23 by no less than the board charged with oversight of those very schools. The meeting of the board began with it not beginning. The people on "our side” (read, “taxpayers,” “citizens,” “electorate” or “the bosses”) were left mulling about for an hour and three-quarters without explanation. Proper behavior would dictate that Mr. [board President Jeff] Janiszewski advise his employers that there was to be a delay, and hopefully even offer a brief explanation of its cause. Didn’t happen. Instead, what occurred was a vaudevillian entrance by the hired hands, led by [Superintendent] Eric Ely. It was a breathtaking sight to behold him leading our other elected-employees down the auditorium's aisle, each of them maintaining a proper 10-foot distance from the marcher in front of them, reminiscent of a coterie of debutantes entering a coming-out party. The burlesque hardly ended there. After several minutes of on-stage paper shuffl ing and the pouring-of-water ritual, there was some backslapping, some award awarding, some announcements about how the contracts of several other hired hands had been extended (without input from the boss, of course), and then they tried to close the meeting — then and there. They ran into a coupe of small obstacles. It seems that Bill McColl and [board member-elect] Joyce Wachala regrettably remembered who worked for whom — always a bad moment for “public servants.” This one got worse. Our foreman, Big Jeff, as he’s known around the bunkhouse, ruled McColl “out of order,” resurrecting the hackneyed but still laughable Pot v. Kettle dispute. He went on to promise that McColl was not going to “hijack” his meeting. Well, at that point, it continued to roll downhill for Big Jeff, when soon-to-beretired wrangler Linda Bellick, no longer having to fear the wrath of Big Jeff, said that she thought their bosses at least had the right to say a few things. Imagine that! In short order, Bill McColl apparently wasn’t out of order, and the bosses did indeed hijack the meeting — they were “allowed” the privilege of speaking to their hired help. On the way home, the humor of it all wore off as recollection set in: These same comic players are responsible for a budget that exceeds one-eighth of a billion dollars of our money, and have the future of our city’s children in their hands. That’s funny in no way I can think of.
Logged
If Maxine Brisport is serious about restoring credibility to this horrible City School Bored the best thing she can do is resign. Maxine for President? Of what? Take Farkas, Jiffy Jeffy and Lisa Russo with you out the door. TONIGHT
, to read how this school board continues to move forward like NOTHING has ever happened. And what I find even MORE shocking 
