The city Friday afternoon filed its legal brief with the Connecticut Supreme Court in support of overturning Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis’ ruling that Superintendent of Schools Paul Vallas cannot remain on the job as a result of her prior decision he lacks proper legal certification to lead city schools. Meanwhile the State Board of Education, Commissioner of Education Stefan Pryor and Attorney General George Jepsen moved to get involved in the Supreme Court case on behalf of Vallas arguing that Bellis’ decision undercuts the authority of the State BOE. The parties filed an application with the Connecticut Supreme Court seeking permission to file a brief in support of overturning Bellis’ decision.
They argue:
“The result of the trial court’s action was to oust the defendant immediately from his office notwithstanding that the elected Bridgeport Board of Education appointed him and the Commissioner determined him to be qualified to hold his office upon findings made by the SBE” (State Board of Education.)
Steven Ecker, an appellate specialist representing the city, filed a 14-page motion for review to keep Vallas on the job pending appeal of the lower court ruling:
“Three things make it impossible to fathom the trial court’s decision to terminate the stay on this record. First, there was no evidence–none–to support a finding that any actual harm will arise from Paul Vallas’s continued tenure as school superintendent pending appeal. Plaintiffs declined to put on any evidence at the stay-termination hearing in support of their motion to lift the stay. The trial judge, moreover, had previously found, in the court’s MOD on the merits, that Mr. Vallas is “deeply committed to improving the plight of the (Bridgeport) school system … (and) has made great strides during his tenure in Bridgeport towards improving the schools for the children of Bridgeport ….
… The immediate ouster of Mr. Vallas will irrevocably destroy any meaningful appellate review of this case, because if he is removed now, by the time the merits of this appeal are decided, even on an expedited schedule, it is extremely likely that Mr. Vallas will be gone or the superintendent position will be filled or both. If reversed, Bridgeport will have lost an exceptionally talented superintendent, and seen tremendous progress under his tenure undone, solely as the result of the judiciary allowing a trial court’s erroneous judgment to be executed before the defendant is able to exercise his statutory right of appeal.”
Read the full legal motion here.
The Supremes are expected to hear oral arguments about Vallas’ credentials to serve in mid September. Retired Superior Court Carmen Lopez filed the court complaint challenging Vallas’ certification.
So the taxpayers throughout CT will be paying for the city attorneys to defend Paul, a very high-priced Hartford attorney to defend Paul, a state commissioner who is a lawyer, not an educator, will be writing to defend Paul and the attorney general will be spending his time defending Paul. (Sorry for the run on.)
All hours and salaries picked up by the taxpayers to defend a man who couldn’t follow a law written just for him.
And what will they include in the briefs, the twisted “facts,” usually written by Paul, about his record.
Google Vallas and any of these terms to read about his “success”: Jon Pelto, Diane Ravitch, Mercedes Schneider, Philly notebook, George Schmidt and substance news.
Why are these men so desperate to create a short-term position for one man?
Anyone think one single teacher would get this support if he or she didn’t follow proper procedures to earn or maintain their certificate?
Some of us are more equal than others.
Yes, I do. A teacher who was facing an unjust termination would get this support from the union. Look at what the WFP (teacher union) is spending to get rid of Vallas. You have confused the roles of the organizations involved. Every dollar spent to ‘save’ Vallas is matched by a dollar to ‘defeat’ him. Why is the WFP so desperate to rid themselves of a man who will just be serving in a short-term position?
You are confused. Find out who’s paying. It’s not WFP. That’s your assumption based upon repeated lies. The issue here is certification and a teacher would NOT be defended for letting that lapse. You obfuscate and it isn’t working. Try again.
Yes, they would. The teacher would be given some time period to re-cert. Failing that they would be kept on as a permanent sub until the end of the school year so as to not disrupt the educational process. Under no circumstances would they be ordered to ‘drop everything’ and walk out of the classroom. Once summer came they would probably have until the beginning of the next school year to re-cert. I am not aware of anyone pushing the issue that far.
BTW–until the appeals court rules, we do not know if Vallas is certified or not. If the high court rules his course is valid this argument is moot. If the court rules Vallas’ course is not valid they may give him some time to take a valid course or one could still argue the certification is nonsense and indeterminate of somebody’s right or ability to do the job. If he loses the appeal, I imagine he will leave. Then we will have to 1–figure out what to do next and 2–find something else to argue about.
You must mean this post’s issue is about certification. I want to be clear to make sure I am not bewildering you, because later you argue he should leave because his reforms are ineffective, he is giving our money to his friends and he is just an arrogant SOB.
Actually all of the above. He is not qualified, his reforms are a hoax and he drives the educrony train. A course is not a program. Papers passed in one week after a lawsuit is filed with one follow-up phone call to CYA is not a course and if you let your cert lapse you are on your own. You merely speculate … you do not know.
He does NOT have the support of a large majority of his front-line workers. No matter what the court decides he is a temporary short- term fix. His methods have not been sustainable ANYWHERE.
So in short it is being boiled down to a certification issue, but it is much more than that now. This isn’t even about the city of Bridgeport anymore. It’s all about saving Vallas and his rep.
The WFP would have to pay or represent themselves. They brought the case. Remember? You would do better to argue the BEA does not support the WFP in this matter even though the BEA did support their run for the BOE.
Are you stubborn or ignorant? Have you read any of the court documents? The two plaintiffs are individual citizens. They are not WFP. Do you think if you keep repeating it you will convince yourself? Please read and be informed.
And Excel supported the other side. So what? BEA is allowed to endorse candidates in elections just as the Chamber of Commerce and the Tea Party and any other number of organizations. The groups backing Vallas have a hell of a lot more money behind them than Working Families Party.
Are you naive? These two WFP members brought the suit and are footing the bill themselves. That is your theory? Maybe they are footing the bill for Norman A. Pattis, Super Lawyer themselves or he is working pro-bono so he can post this case on his web site:
www .pattislawfirm.com/noteworthy_cases.php
with the examples of the millions he managed to get out of cities and sex offenders he put back on the streets.
PS–sticks and stones. Name-calling does not strengthen your argument. It is just the last bastion of a desperate individual.
So support your contention Deborah Reyes and Carmen Lopez are WFP members. You have the roster, so print it. Please don’t lecture about desperation as YOU continue to spread lies. I’m sure Ecker has only defended law-abiding churchgoing saints.
Absolutely. Any teacher who does anything anti-Vallas knows they can go immediately to the BEA office and collect $1000 from a small tin can right outside the door. Also, I did hear the BEA is secretly laundering thousands through an unnamed Italian restaurant, which is providing Carmen Lopez and her family with a lifetime supply of meals and family celebrations (including unlimited sambuca and takeout w/free delivery).
Sue, that is a great post!
So what is your plan/recommendation if the court rules the way you are promoting? This is by most public accounts number three in a row who have been lobbied to leave Bridgeport. While I understand your argument, what is the alternate positive direction you support?
So we all know Wikipedia isn’t the most reliable source, since it lists Vallas as gone from Bridgeport … not accurate, but here is a concise background on his meanderings. He seems to always be headed back to Chicago and some political seat.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Vallas
Hugh Bailey: It’s not about a piece of paper
The point isn’t that everything he’s done is wrong. It’s that the Supreme Court isn’t likely to care. Its concern is whether his certification is legitimate, and nothing else.
Still, his fans insist his track record take precedence. If that’s the case, then it is impossible to ignore the utterly dire state of public schools in Chicago and Philadelphia today.
He’s been out of those jobs for years, so maybe he shouldn’t be blamed. Others aren’t so sure. “It is no coincidence that the Philadelphia School District is facing a plight similar to that of the Chicago public schools, with mass school closings, teacher layoffs and budget shortfalls,” Jerusha O. Conner, an education professor at Villanova University, told a Philadelphia reporter last week. There’s no mystery who instituted the reforms in those cities that led to today’s debacles.
His supporters say his record should speak for itself. They should listen to what his record says.
www .ctpost.com/news/article/Hugh-Bailey-It-s-not-about-a-piece-of-paper-4675202.php
Detroit schools are also facing a similar plight. When did Vallas serve in Detroit? The entire City of BPT is going down this same road. As far as education is concerned, BPT has been traveling that road for years. At some point you just can’t steer away from the wall regardless of what you do. What, exactly, will improve if Vallas disappears and we go back to doing what we have done last year and the 20 years before that? Who’s policies got us to the point we were at before Vallas came? High school students who can’t read, 70% dropout rate, we should let their record speak for itself.
HE IS NOT QUALIFIED, PERIOD! What don’t you understand? Do we need to get a translator for you, SPY? He is not even qualified to be a substitute teacher, PERIOD! In fact that whole course he supposedly talks may even qualify as fraud and you want him in charge of education. What kind of lesson is that for kids? Would you go to a physician or a lawyer who didn’t meet certification guidelines? Do you think Vallas’ expensive lawyers aren’t properly licensed despite the ludicrousness of their claims? The kids deserve no less.
The part I do not understand about your statement is the State Governing Board/Commission of the education branch of the government testified in court he was qualified. I understand your citing the other branch of the government’s decision, not sure you are willing to consider both sides. The definitive answer will come soon, so I ask again, to those who support having yet another Superintendent out–what is the positive plan you have going forward?
His buddy Pryor testified on his behalf. No one from the state BOE testified. Villanova confirmed the 6-paper, one-phone-call quickie “class” now referred to as 30-credit 093 program.
Pryor would have said he could do anything including walk on water.
Yes jake, in all fairness and it has been said, one could say the same about the friendship/buddy ruling by the presiding judge.
Prove it, Jessica. Where’s the story? Did you try to spin that with the CT Post and it didn’t stick?
Pryor has clearly stated they were friends and go back to other past “reforms.”
So back up your claim. All judges are friends, eh? Empty claim made out of desperation. Pathetic.
Maybe the BOE would again have department heads. Young Author’s Conference would again celebrate authors; junior scientists would be given guidance and oversight for school-based science fairs; all schools would again have math and reading specialists which used to provide mentorship and teaching tools. The special education department might finally get enough certified teachers and paraprofessionals to do their legally mandated jobs.
And this is just the tip of the iceberg.
jake, I do not know who Jessica is, I think your comment was directed at me. Judge Bellis works with Judge Radcliffe, who is Carmen Lopez’ husband. In this case they do know each other. I have not contacted the Post about this case. I was having lunch with three attorneys discussing this case. When the judge was asked if she thought she could be impartial, she said yes, and she had already done research on the case. They were not clear if the brief had been filed, and they were curious how the research could have been done without briefs being filed, and they then discussed their opinions of the ability for neutral decisions based on the relationship with the judges. They also pointed out it was unprecedented for a judge to order a stay to be set aside, as it is usual for a judge to allow a higher court to concur with their opinion in an appeal.
So they work together and because of that now they are best friends and her decision would be based on her friendship with her BFF judge buddy. Got it, very solid argument.
She had to rule because there was a petition to terminate the stay. The Vallas posse then filed the appeal.
Lunch with three attorneys is not proof of a friendship or any wrongdoing. You’re grasping at straws.
You’ve made some huge leaps here. Maybe they will be able to resurrect Paul, which is the main concern, but he won’t be here for long.
jake, it is very obvious you are very passionate about your views. I am still waiting for your idea and/or plan regarding your next step if Vallas leaves. Do you have a plan/candidate in mind?
There are many retired certified superintendents who would fill in while a search is conducted for a candidate who will make a commitment to the community and who respects teaching and learning as a profession, not a test prep sweatshop. If our political leaders and the suddenly concerned hedgeucators are sincerely committed to the children of Bridgeport they could find a qualified, certified educator. We do not need another fly-by-night carpetbagger. However, our commissioner, who is a lawyer and who never taught, would prefer a Broad-trained corporate-minded technician over a educational leader who understands all the intricacies and complexities of the teaching profession. CAPSS could certainly help line up an interim super while they search, but Pryor will not let the BOE make the final decision. He comes from mayoral or state control fiefdoms: NYC and Newark.
So yes, we can find a qualified CT certified super to pick up the pieces while a long-term educational leader is recruited, but that is not what the commissioner favors.
Guess what, Jennifer. Most lawyers and judges know each other, including the other side. Of course the state board is going to say he is qualified, they are political appointees … appointed by the people who want Vallas in. He isn’t qualified to even teach in this state.
By that logic we wouldn’t have a functioning legal system unless you want to lock the judges up in solitary confinement. Of course they work with each other. Of course they know each other. So what? Guess what, they know all the lawyers in the case too. So what?
Just answering jake because he asked do all judges know one another. It is possible the case could have been heard in a different city. I am well aware most attorneys know one another, they fight for their side in court and manage to often have very cordial relationships outside of the courtroom.
Chicago Tribune editorial:
July 17, 2013
Chicago Public Schools officials revealed Tuesday that only 52.5 percent of the district’s elementary students met or exceeded state academic standards in the last school year. That’s a nearly 22-percentage-point plunge from a year earlier.
—–
The results will be ugly. Thousands of students statewide who were rated as meeting standards in 2012 will not make the cut in 2013. Teachers, principals and ISBE officials are bracing for a torrent of angry, confused and disappointed parents.
www .chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-edit-schools-20130717,0,4146161.story
I thought Chicago was reformed by Vallas and then reformed by Arne Duncan and still being reformed evidently.
When will people wake up and realize this is a massive shell game that creates the illusion of reform. There is no sustainability if the focus is on test scores and “bad” teachers and schools.
A real leader understands school reform is holistic community reform where families have access to living wage jobs, and to affordable health care and to housing and safe communities; the schools can’t fix all of that on their own.
But it is a sellable narrative to blame the “bad” teachers and the evil unions, while funneling taxpayer money to the traveling circus of reformers and the educronies salivating at the $$$ coming their way.
It’s all about the kid$ and it’s the civil right$ i$$ue of our time. Right!
Where should that money go? BPT’s 1/4 of a billion dollars will be spent, one way or another. You seem angry this $ will go to a traveling circus of reformers and the educronies. We know the money went to them because Vallas put the budget on the BOE web site. Where did that $ go before? I know $20K went to a painting company owned by a BOE member’s son-in-law when we had a city painter. You wouldn’t know that because nobody knew where any money went before Vallas. The 1/4 Billion $$$ would just disappear year after year and we had deficits. Are you really concerned with where the money goes or just who gets it? This fight should be about civil rights but it just seems to be about money.
You say not having a living wage job is killing education and without an education you don’t get a living wage job. Are you suggesting some people are just screwed? I don’t know if health care and housing affect education. People got educations when they lived in log cabins but back then educators offered something that had a perceived inherent value that more directly affected your income.
The real reason they are fighting this with so many lawyers, including our commissioner, is not because of CT so much.
Vallas is the godfather of the free market/privatization/portfolio/charter school demolition. If he goes down here it sets a precedent for all self-appointed “reformers” especially the Broad-trained edufrauds.
This would be a huge smackdown to the privatization movement masquerading as “reform.”
Sorry Bridgeport, this really isn’t about you.
Vallas arrogantly states the Chicago and Philadelphia schools are currently failing because he is no longer there. That stinks. If he were any good, he would have implemented a school reform program that would be able to be sustained long after he is gone. In essence, he is telling us we will have an improved educational system that will crash as soon as he moves on. No thanks.
BINGO!
yahooty–with all due respect, two years after Vallas left Philly the state cut school finding by more than 1/3. I would hazard a guess that decision would wreck the most well-laid plans of anyone.
This same phenomenon of crumbling results seems to happen everywhere be goes.
Ms. Buchanan,
All respect is due you and the fine work you are doing to illuminate the issues before this city in an impartial and objective manner. While your suggestion the demise of the Philadelphia school system post-Vallas may be related to a significant cut in education spending, I am referring to the prevailing attitude of the families of the school children and much of the educational staff that the Vallas experience was not fruitful. I believe the people of New Orleans feel the same way.
BTW I like the new name. YAHOOTY. Gives credence to JML’s suggestion yahooty is snooty.
My auto correct is a pice of shut … 😉 but glad you like the new spelling. I cannot get a real handle on the numbers of past unhappy teachers/parents, it could be a very vocal few. The Westport Superintendent just got his pay raised to $400k and from the few letters written in protest, one would think he has singlehandedly put that school system on the path to ruin. I’m just sayin’.
Like the very local few paid by Excel BP?
jakedog,
You chastise BOE and urge finding out where the money is coming from. That is a subject you probably know full well. So tell us, please, instead of making fun of my open, accountable and transparent mantra. Who is paying for the Vallas opposition?
Vallas believes, among many things, taxpayers should expect a balanced budget and he has worked to provide that so far (assuming the “partners” in the process deliver the funds in a timely fashion). Then he has posted these numbers every other month for the public to see, review, compare and question.
Lo and behold, there appear to be no more questions on this subject at BOE meetings. No comments pro or con? Why is that? Can it be while the numbers were secret, it was worthwhile to question the subject to be provocative? But once the financial info is provided it is merely factual and no longer really material to the agendas of one or more members? So the local battle goes to another place, the court system?
A political party or a teacher union or a PAC have rights to raise funds and spend them according to certain rules. But why are they so shy in sharing what, where, and how such funds are being spent? Why is this a secret? jakedog, are you supported financially by any anti-Vallas funds? (I can disclose as I ask the question I have not been paid for nor hired to offer my comments or opinions on any City matter, whether about Vallas, City budgets, following Charter and Ordinances, etc.)
I work on behalf of ordinary Bridgeporters to deliver background information, selective facts and some opinion, connected in written form here on OIB. The fall primaries and elections, the current City budget bumping into fiscal realities, and other issues like Sikorsky Airport and Wheelabrator court decisions continue. Time will tell.
jake, from what I am told and understand by a BOE member regarding partners delivering funds, there are two organizations locally who solicit and collect funds and then write a check from their organization to the BOE. The Board asked for funding to cover the resigned Super’s salary and benefits so the taxpayers would not bear the cost of paying two salaries and benefits per both positions contracts. I understand one board member questioned where the funds came from, even being concerned it could even be from the KKK for all they knew (I say take their money and bankrupt them if possible). There is no real way to track or document exactly which funds to the organization went to BOE or another Bridgeport program. Is this the partner money, solicited by the BOE you are referring to?
JML, I discovered who is funding the legal challenges to PV and this goes deeper than BRG thought. He has gone through this 4-5 times and every time the same people oppose him for the same reasons. One would think he has grown used to it and prepared himself. Since BRG told us Vallas is supported by the mayor, governor, Secretary of Education, the calamarians, the anti-marians, the Dems, the GOP, Wall Street, Greenwich hedge fund managers, et al. I wondered, if not the teacher union, who opposes him? Well the answer is Vallas is the guy opposing Vallas. He has been through this so many times PV decided to fund a guy to start a group that started a group that started a group to oppose himself. This opposition will appear credible but will have one, obscure, exploitable flaw. This way he wins and all those who oppose him believe they have been defeated and he is left to do what he does. After he is firmly in control the BOE coffers burst open and money floods into the waiting arms of those who support him. Diabolical!!!
JML loves to complain about financial mismanagement yet apparently it is okay for the city to spend taxpayer funds to defend a superintendent who does not meet state certification requirements. And JML doesn’t think it is important. But I bet if he hired an attorney and found out that attorney was not properly licensed to practice law in the state of CT, everyone in the state would be hearing his outrage. I can just see the spit flying out of his mouth.
And JML, the real-life person in Catch Me If You Can, while he was able to impersonate a pilot, surgeon etc., in the end he went to jail … as he should have. And what Vallas is doing is little different. In many professions if you don’t have the papers, you are not allowed to do the job, whether you are a plumbing contractor, physician, insurance salesman, attorney … or a superintendent of schools.
I have been wondering about these certifications and what they really mean. Say you go through college, then law school. You go to good schools and get good grades. Then you have to take a test to prove what you know? What does that say about the faith anyone has in the educational system? I understand why I would have to pass a test if my dad were a plumber and I learned to be a plumber from him or why real estate agents want to limit the number of people working in the field by requiring certification so they can keep pay high. Why do professional degrees require certification? If you went to college for 4, 6 or 8 years shouldn’t that be enough? It implies you can go to college, matriculate, graduate and not know anything. As you said, Frank Abagnale went to jail for fraud, forgery and swindling. I’m not sure which charge relates to his impersonations. He did manage to pass the Bar exam. If you can do that shouldn’t that be enough to be a lawyer? If you pass the GED you are a high school graduate.
And if you can write and submit six papers, arrange a phone call between April 1st, the date a lawsuit is filed against you and mid-April, you can be a reformy super in CT!
Now here’s the question … can this speedy credit recovery “program” be extended to all interested candidates or do you have to be Stefan’s BFF?
I think if you worked as a super, school CEO or managed any large entity you should be able to take the same course. It would be that life experience thing. I do not see any need to be an educator. Personally, I think things were better when teachers needed a masters degree in the subject they teach. I would bet the guy who runs GM does not know how to build a car or even how a car works. I would guess it would be more important for him to know how to borrow money, work a balance sheet and get car parts from where they are to where they need to be at the right time. At that level it is more of a financial thing, controlling costs. What the kids need to learn is already dictated by the state and feds. Textbook companies make the books to fit these requirements. Teachers just need to get the kids from page 1 to page 185 in the available 185 days. The one ‘reform’ no one talks about that has been shown to make the biggest difference is year-’round school. How many other industrialized countries still have summers off so the kids can help out in the fields?
“Textbook companies make the books to fit these requirements. Teachers just need to get the kids from page 1 to page 185 in the available 185 days” … well that says all one needs to know about you … you know absolutely nothing about the teaching and learning process if that’s how you view the profession, child development and the human experience in the classroom. It is clear you have never worked with or taught children. Teaching is not filling a pail, but the lighting of a fire. And this is why non-educators cannot run the show nor are they respected by their workforce.
They just don’t get it and they never will. Maybe you are Paul.
That must be why our country is doing so well in comparison with all the other countries worldwide. Instead of demanding excellence we are lighting our empty buckets on fire. As long as everybody can have a life mission, feel good about themselves and get paid, isn’t that what is really important?
You don’t even know what you don’t know. Real teachers will get it. I feel sorry for you actually, but I wish you the best. Next year volunteer in a school, mentor students who need a big brother or sister, teach someone to read, make a difference like all of us. Walk the walk. You have much to learn. God bless you.
Your job is to fill that empty bucket. Your job is to get the information from that book into their heads, all the information. Not just the bits about arson. The ‘fire’ you talk about has more to do with how you teach than what you teach. I would love to teach someone to read but I am not certified. In the same way you are not certified to make choices about curricula. I know you have years in the classroom but that does not count for Vallas and it does not count for you. Teachers get the information into the kids’ heads, principals enforce discipline and supers manage budgets, the work force and curricula. That is a simplified description of each job. Don’t overextend yourself, just do your part.
I think I will pass on your “tips.” The simplicity and your lack of knowledge in this area speaks for itself. Most competent teachers know a fraud when they see one and you sir are definitely not an educator.
BRG,
Actually, I am a proponent of OATs! Remember? Open, Accountable and Transparent governance? Big room for improvement in Bridgeport in all areas but since Federal and State authorities call for reports as do bond markets and other suppliers of money (beyond ordinary taxpayers), you have noticed I will often keep an eye on the “SHOW ME THE MONEY” part of the Finch administration.
With that in mind it has been previously reported on this blog several times city policy provides a legal defense for muni employees who find themselves attacked in certain manners. The Vallas situation seems to fit in that category.
Question for you BRG on legal representation: The City has pursued Wheelabrator, operator of the municipal waste to energy plant succeeding the Connecticut Resource Recovery Authority (CRRA) with legal guns for about five years. It has been clear the City’s expert appraisers have been in error by almost a $100 Million overstatement of value. What has it cost us each year of the five for inside and external counsel? What will it cost us to appeal? What is the benefit we might expect? Do you know? Do you care? (I haven’t seen you post on that article yet so it may be off your radar, and since your solid waste stays in the Southwest US these days, maybe that will be your answer.)
Another thought from outside the box: Perhaps Superintendencies should have Jury Duty type responsibilities? Meaning since the certification you have can provide everything that is needed for any CT school system, you can be tapped whether you are running a multi-town rural district in eastern CT or are Superintendent of Darien or Greenwich at several hundred thousand more per year. Just part of the responsibility for several years. Do the reforms necessary; lay out the pattern per State and Federal standards; make sure the budgets are fully funded and the teacher development, hiring and contracts are in good order; and then return to your former position? Could something like that work? (Several years ago I wondered whether Fairfield police could come to Bridgeport for one month, exchanging duties with an equal number of Bridgeport safety officers. Kind of like Fresh Air Fund exchanges? What type of learning experience would happen?)
The CT Supreme Court will have to consider the entire issue of the education of youth in poor urban districts (with all of the attendant facts so well described last week in Sunday CT Post by retiring Waltersville School Principal Ann deBernard) and see whether someone with similar experience, interest and dedication to the children of our community is fit to stay on pursuing his five-year plan based on his responses to the six questions raised by the Principal task master from UConn. Time will tell.
Now you have determined he is a city employee? REALLY? He is an employee of the Board of ED who is not qualified for his job. That is a personal matter, not the problem of the city, which isn’t directly involved in this nor should the Board of Ed since this is about whether or not Mr. Vallas has completed the requisite educational requirements. This is no different than if a teacher were found not to have the requisite certifications, that would be up to the teacher to get legal counsel NOT the Board of Ed.
BRG–the BOE hired him–well, they voted to approve a contract for him. So I think they are involved, but I could be wrong.
I am unaware of an entity with the so-called purpose of being the Vallas opposition. Or of any fundraising.
Like you, I work on behalf of ordinary Bridgeporters to deliver background information, although it is true I do not work alone. I am a voracious reader and rather than presenting selective facts, I provide links to commentary, research and study on issues related to the traveling circus of reformers and the educronies. There is much out there. You might try reading some.
In all of your posts, especially since you identify yourself as “a voracious reader,” I might have thought once or twice you might have saluted the balancing of the budgets for two years and the information available to the public that was not so transparent before Vallas. You might try reading some of these, and if they meet your level of public accountability, say so. Time will tell.
Would that include the no-bid contracts to vendors he has used in Philly, NOLA and Chicago? Was that part of the “transparent” budget?
You are grasping at straws. There are several situations when you are allowed to have no-bid contracts. You do not pick up on the appearance of impropriety between Judge Bellis working with Judge Radcliffe, who is Carmen Lopez’ husband but you see graft and corruption in a no-bid contract. The BOE handed out no-bid contracts like candy for years and you said nothing. Now a contract awarded in Bum F Egypt upsets you?
OMG they worked together … like they talked to each other and passed each other in the hallway and maybe they shared a sandwich once, I never thought of that, then they must be in cahoots to ruin one man’s life. That’s why you’re a spy and I am not.
Search Pelto on the contracts … oodles of funny business if you’re up for enlightenment.
Maybe they are friends on Facebook. Maybe they had an affair or the families vacation together. We do not know. If I sued you and we go to court, you lose and find out my wife works with the judge. The judge may know who I am outside the context of the case. On top of that the judge makes peculiar rulings. Maybe he rules you have to pay me by the end of business today? You wouldn’t be a little suspicious? I am surprised Lopez did not ask for a change of venue. She is an ex-judge, she or Bellis should have foreseen the conflict. If not for this conflict the issue would be over but now Vallis gets another chance at the plate. They both did Vallis a favor.
Shhh SPY … don’t tell anybody but Malloy and McDonald are super tight and he was recently appointed to the Supreme Court by Dannel.
Also it was moved to a different courthouse and that still didn’t work maybe because a six-paper, one-phone-call charade is not a program.
Odd the work wasn’t even completed until after the lawsuit was filed.
I guess he needed a little push. Too bad he wasn’t self-motivated or he wouldn’t even be in this situation.
Instead of repeating your holy words “no-bid contracts” again and again, why don’t you specify those contracts entered into by the Bridgeport BOE or Superintendent Paul Vallas that were “no bid?” Be sure to provide the party who was awarded the contact, the nature of the product or service, the amount of the bid and over what period it is being paid. Have you ever done that previously?
The we can track that set of facts to the City purchasing policy (slippery as that set of practices may be in other parts of the City) and see our way to a conclusion.
I asked you to look at the “fact” of broader fiscal reporting on public school activities than we have had in more than a decade. You make no comment on this improvement and you really should if you are truly fact based. Is it that you do not really like transparency and accountability of budgets? When Vallas leaves the district whether in months or years, will the financial reporting, better than the City side, remain for citizens to observe, learn and make decisions? Time will tell.
*** JEPSON AND FINCH ARE BOYS SINCE BACK WHEN THEY BOTH WERE AT THE STATE CAPITOL, SO ANYTHING “AGAINST OR FOR” FINCH WILL GET JEPSON “INVOLVED OR NOT” IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN! HOWEVER VALLAS BETTER START PREPARING TO PLAY SECOND FIDDLE AS SUPT. ‘CAUSE BPT’S LEGAL DEPT. IS NOT WINNING THIS APPEAL ANYTIME SOON. *** ONE STEP FORWARD, TWO STEPS BACK. ***
Many examples here of no-bid contracts, especially the Spec. Ed. software fiasco. Why pay for something if you aren’t going to use it for months or a full school year? What a waste.
jonathanpelto.com/?s=Vallas+no+bid+contracts
I just have two simple questions. Why do people want Vallas terminated? Why do other people want him fully and legally restored to his duties? I think his antagonists have more issues than merely his certification deficiencies. I think his protagonists are fighting because of the lucrative BOE budget. What thinkest y’all?
No, everybody is fighting for the lucrative BOE budget. The fight is about WHO gets that budget. Let us not fool ourselves into believing all the fancy lawyers and legal maneuvering are the actions of some little hausfraus working from their kitchen on either side.
The antagonists are saying ‘he is not qualified and we should continue to get the $ and keep doing what we have been doing.’ There is a large organization in place that has been getting that money for years and they want to keep getting it. They have the advantage of being the incumbents but they have not been very effective. They have deep roots and connections in the city. Much like the city government and the antagonists stay in power for the same reasons. Protagonists are saying ‘Who cares? We want to know where the $ is going. What is the cost benefit of what we are doing?’ Vallas is also a large organization and looking to get that money. He promises an open accountability and more effectiveness but these are just promises. The questions are: can he do it and do you believe him?
At some point it would be better to skip the education and give the kids the money. Free ourselves of the liability. We spend ~$13K/year on each kid over 13 years, ~$170K total. Both sides have valid arguing points and the choice will be given to us despite all our bickering. We do not choose what side wins and regardless of what side wins education will go on. Some kids will do well, some won’t. Let us just hope for improvement and/or cost savings before this breaks us.
BOE SPY,
Remember when you wrote this about the email Vallas sent out to his colleagues? I responded and reposted it here. I would respectfully request you forward yours to Lennie, and he send it to me (with your address deleted, of course) at an email address I will provide to him. If so, I will retract this statement.
BOE SPY // Jul 14, 2013 at 9:14 pm
Mine reads:
Vallas, Paul
To:
* BOE All
Reply
Sue // Jul 21, 2013 at 10:20 am
I don’t know what brought me back here, but I just rechecked my email. There is nothing in my mailbox regarding this from BOE, nothing from Vallas’s email, nothing from Kase’s–so call you on this and state your are lying, BOE SPY.
OK, what is Lennie’s e-mail address? I will forward it to my personal e-mail, then to Lennie.
lenniegrimaldi@onlyinbridgeport.com
Lennie, don’t forward her the e-mail. You can tell her you saw it and it is legit. She should be able to take your word for it. If she refuses to take your word she could just as easily say I could have faked the entire thing. She could also get the e-mail resent to her from anyone whose e-mail was working properly that day downtown. Why she needs to be forwarded my e-mail is a mystery.
I did not forward the email, I forwarded the content of the email, the same content I received.
This nonsense about Bellis and a conflict of interest is pure nonsense. Let’s not forget the city also suggested there was a conflict because Carmen and Judge Bellis sat on the bench at the same time. If you believe that then no recently retired Judge could be a party to any lawsuit. No recently retired judge could appear in a courtroom.
The city was simply desperate to get the matter away from Judge Bellis simply because she had previous ruled against the city so they knew she wasn’t in awe of the legal wisdom of the city attorney’s office.
I hope this becomes the crux of their appeal. They will lose on a unanimous vote.
As to the conflict with Judge Bellis assigning cases to Judge Radcliffe, again, the city attorney’s office has it backwards. If the roles were reversed and Judge Radcliffe were the administrative judge and Judge Bellis a subordinate and therefore Bellis might be willing to bend the rules to ease her boss and rule in favor or the boss’s wife then there would be a potential conflict.
But with Bellis as the boss she has nothing to be gained by ruling for or against Carmen Lopez. Again a desperate measure by a desperate City Attorney.
The crux of the appeal should be what was the legislative intent with amending the law. If the legislature wanted to allow the Education Commissioner and the State Board of Education to be able to simply waive any and all requirements they could simply have done so. But they did not. They required a level of additional education. And what Judge Bellis ruled was based on all of the facts presented Vallas did not meet that legislative requirement.
BOE SPY, by your logic the entire US Supreme Court would be invalid. How is there impropriety because Judge Bellis and Judge Radcliffe are colleagues?
No matter what you think of Paul Valles, his appeal decision and the related costs are a BOE matter not a City of Bridgeport matter. An FOIA request will be filed to find out whether City funds are being used for this appeal. If so, a suit may follow to recover the funds from the responsible parties.
The BOE wasn’t named in the suit. You need to get the money back from Vallas. He is party being sued.
Mr. Walker,
Our tax dollars are paid to the city of Bridgeport to cover city and Board of Ed costs. There isn’t a separate taxing district for the Board of Ed. The costs are not billed separately. When you look at the cities of Stamford and New Haven you will see their Boards of Ed as city departments with combined human resource and accounting functions. Stamford’s Board of Ed is all elected. New Haven’s Board of Ed is all appointed. Hartford’s Board of Ed is a combination of elected and appointed officials.
Bridgeport’s finances have been intermingled over the years. Recently there has been an effort to separate the costs so the education formula calculations are clearer. I don’t think whether the legal costs for this Vallas appeal at paid by the city or Board of Ed accounts matters. It’s all coming out of the tax dollars property owners pay to the city. State statutes are really not consistent on whether Board of Ed employees are municipal employees. In some statutes they are considered one and the same. In other statutes they are not. I don’t think the issue of who pays for this appeal is critical. Unfortunately, the taxpayers are paying either way.
countdown,
The BOE is a separate and distinct legal entity from the City of Bridgeport. Vallas is not an employee of the City of Bridgeport and he’s not a Department head in Bridgeport. The fact the funds are comingled for adminstrative purposes or there is not a separate taxing district is not the relevant issue. 80 percent of the cost of Bridgeport’s schools come from the state and federal government and not from Bridgeport taxpayers. The City should not be making the decision and should not be using Bridgeport taxpayer funds solely to fund any appeal. The recovery should come from the Mayor and any City officials who decide to improperly use City of Bridgeport taxpayer funds. It would be a taxpayer suit and the responsible parties can try to recover from Vallas. That’s not our problem.
Mr. Walker,
The state statutes are inconsistent on whether the Board of Ed is a separate legal entity or one of the city’s children. It is not clear. Therefore proposing a taxpayer lawsuit will just incur more legal costs on the part of the city. In my opinion that strategy is not wise since the issue isn’t clear cut. We want to reduce legal expenses.
Great letter in today’s CT Post about the length, emotional depth and financial breadth of getting an educational certification.
My son thought my best friend was his mommy and her two daughters were his sisters as a result of the time he spent with them while I got my master’s degree.
He’s starting to accept me (probably because he turned 30 on Friday and hopes for a cake and a check).
www .ctpost.com/news/article/On-superintendents-and-certifications-4675108.php
Okay, wasn’t all that angst and struggle to get the piece of paper called a diploma? If she, for some reason, fails to get the certification, that diploma is ‘just a piece of paper’ in CT. Say her check bounces, the state worker screws up (’cause that never happens) or the application is lost in the mail; does that make her less qualified or just unable to work? She could still work in another state or a hospital without the cert. As I read it, the cert is just to work in schools. Is the state going to reimburse her for lost income she suffered waiting for the certification? (Delays resulting from state layoffs). Will she frame the certification and hang it on the wall and discard her diplomas?