Quoted from bumblethru

They can clearly post here under an alias freely. And I'd like to hear from teachers from other districts. Let's get their take on this too.

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Quoted from benny salami:
And it gets worse. Not only is James Casino's wife a 6th grade teacher at Hamilton School he has 2 children on the School payroll!

Quoted from 251

Nepotism???  Here in our city, county, state?  

If true, it appears that Espada isn't the only one supporting his children on the taxpayers' dime.

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A picture is worth a thousand questions
Facebook photos allegedly show school board member and his teacher wife drinking with teens

By LAUREN STANFORTH, Staff writer
Last updated: 9:24 a.m., Tuesday, September 1, 2009

SCHENECTADY -- Photos that allegedly show a city school board member and his teacher wife drinking alcohol among teens at their son's graduation party have caught the attention of law enforcement officials.

Turning Stone      
Schenectady County District Attorney Robert M. Carney said Monday he spoke with Police Chief Mark Chaires and detectives about Facebook pictures allegedly showing board member James Casino drinking shots of liquor and Casino's wife, Donna, an elementary school teacher, upside down drinking from a keg among teens at a party.

The photos, obtained by the Times Union, show two parties, one of which was for the Casinos' son Jimmy's graduation in June from Schenectady High School.

The existence of the photos was first reported by Daily Gazette columnist Carl Strock in Sunday's edition.

The newspaper did not publish the photos because of legal concerns, said Managing Editor Judy Patrick. Early Monday afternoon, she said police had not contacted her.

The columnist reported the photographs were on a Facebook page maintained by Donna Casino and by another Casino son. Various photos were leaked on a local blog and passed around via e-mail Monday to news media, including the Times Union.

The identities of the Casinos were confirmed by those who know them.

James and Donna Casino could not be reached for comment.

Two flags hung outside their Belmont Avenue home, one saying "graduate" and the other "a great mom lives here."

The photos are no longer available on the Facebook links.......................>>>>..........................>>>>................................http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=836815

Quoted from bumblethru

Where is the outrage from the residents? I have yet to see or hear them get THEIR PITCHFORKS and scream foul! Now that is a disgrace! IMHO

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A photo on Facebook apparently shows Donna Casino, a Hamilton Elementary teacher and wife of Schenectady City School Board member James Casino, being lifted above a keg at a graduation party.


Schenectady City school board member James Casino allegedly drinks alcohol off an ice block.

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Posted: Tuesday, 30 June 2009 7:36AM

Cops: Rye Parents Arrested for Teen Drinking Party

RYE, N.Y. (AP)  -- Police in Rye, N.Y., have arrested two parents for allowing their daughter to host a party where teens drank alcohol.
  
Homeowners John and Elizabeth Heil told police that they knew there was going to be drinking at the Saturday night party.

But the Heils said they had limited the amount of alcohol available and weren't going to let any of the teens drive home.
  
Police Lt. James Verille said officers found more than 20 teenagers between the ages of 16 and 19 drinking in the Heils' backyard early Sunday. The 59-year-old parents were home at the time.
    
The Heils each face a misdemeanor charge of unlawfully dealing with a child in the first degree. They are due in court July 7.

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District mum about keg party photos
Pictures of school board member, teacher drinking with teens spark probe

By LAUREN STANFORTH, Staff writer
First published in print: Wednesday, September 2, 2009

SCHENECTADY -- The city school district is being silent about how it will respond to the revelation that a school board member and his elementary school teacher wife drank alcohol among teens at a graduation party.


Superintendent Eric Ely said Tuesday he will not comment on the matter, other than to say, "we are aware the police are investigating it and certainly we're looking at it internally. We have not made any determinations," Ely said.

Photos taken from the public networking Internet site Facebook show Hamilton Elementary School sixth-grade teacher Donna Casino being lifted above a beer keg by young men at a party, while another photo shows her husband, school board member James Casino, drinking a liquor shot from a carved ice sculpture. Another photo shows possibly an underage teen drinking from the same sculpture. Photos depict at least one party in which family and friends celebrated the Schenectady High School graduation of Casinos' son, Jimmy.

Daily Gazette columnist Carl Strock first reported about the photos on Sunday. The photos subsequently disappeared from Facebook. The newspaper did not publish them. However, the photos have now passed around the community through various e-mails and local blogs.

The Casinos' daughter, Cara, who is a sixth-grade teacher at Mont Pleasant Middle School, is also in the photo with her mother.

Schenectady County District Attorney Robert Carney said Monday police are looking to see if a law such as unlawfully dealing with a child was broken, a misdemeanor which carries a sentence of up to one year in jail.

Despite repeated attempts by Times Union reporters to contact the Casinos by phone and at their home, the couple has not been reached for comment.

Schenectady Federation of Teachers president Juliet Benaquisto said district leadership has not contacted her about the teachers. She said she can't comment on the situation, but the union will represent the Casinos if any disciplinary action is brought against them.

Benaquisto said she believes the Schenectady teachers' contract does not include a moral code of conduct. But all New York state teachers must abide by one as part of their certification with the state.

A school district can file a moral character complaint with the state Education Department if a teacher "has committed an act which raises a reasonable question as to the individual's moral character," according to law cited on the state Education Department's Web site. In such a case, a hearing would ensue to determine if suspension or revocation of a teacher's license is merited.

In April, New York State United Teachers printed an article in its monthly publication warning teachers about what they post on the Internet and how it can impact their jobs.........................>>>>.........................>>>>.........................................................http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=837456