Response to the Sarasota School Board Member who wrote to me. lee
The Sarasota Herald Tribune has an article called "Judge Rules that a Manatee Teacher Shouldn't Have Been Fired." I post it below. I wrote the board to complain about the teacher's mistreatment and to ask for public information about the hiring of Dr. Hamilton as the schools' lobbiest without advertising the job.I am glad I did not give a lecture on English because the spell checker betrayed me and spelled "know" as "no." Spell checkers won't catch homophones. I hope to remember that fact some day. lee
Judge rules teacher should have kept job
Last Modified: Friday, May 1, 2009 at 11:29 p.m.
MANATEE COUNTY - Teacher Mary Cropsey's problems at Mills Elementary started the day she filed a formal complaint about the school's morning prayer meetings.
The next day she got a letter from Principal Mike Rio asking her to attend a meeting to discuss a "violation of FCAT procedures."
On the advice of her attorney, Cropsey skipped that meeting, and ultimately got fired for it.
Now, a judge has ruled that the Manatee County School Board should not have fired her, and that Cropsey deserves back pay under her contract. The District Court of Appeal ruling filed Friday could also bolster a civil lawsuit Cropsey filed against the school district.
"When I walked out of that courtroom, I knew that I was going to win this one," Cropsey said. "The school district's position just doesn't make any sense."
The ruling highlights concerns over a Manatee school district policy that prohibits teachers under investigation from bringing private attorneys to meetings. The district adopted the rule several years ago as part of a policy intended to crack down on teachers accused of misconduct.
At least one other teacher has challenged his termination under the policy, and two other state boards have said the rule violates fair labor practices.
Friday's decision comes almost three years after Cropsey started as a third-grade teacher at Mills in the 2006-2007 school year.
Almost immediately she started having problems. Cropsey said that Principal Mike Rio and other school employees treated her like an outcast. She suspected that was because she is older and did not participate in the prayer meetings.
Cropsey was working on a one-year contract, and in February 2007 Rio informed her that he was not going to renew it.
A month later Cropsey went to the school district and lodged a discrimination complaint against Rio. The next day she received the notice about the meeting to discuss FCAT violations.
The letter did not detail the specific allegations -- which later turned out to be test cheating, a misdemeanor crime -- or state that Cropsey was under a formal investigation.
It stated she could bring representation, but did not elaborate that the district policy would only allow her to bring a union officer, not a private attorney.
Cropsey was suspicious when she received the letter and contacted an attorney, who advised her not to attend, fearing she might incriminate herself.
Her lawyer, Charles Britt, also called School Board attorney John Bowen to let him know he had advised Cropsey not to come. Bowen asked him to put that in writing, but did not tell him that Cropsey could lose her job for not attending.
Several months later the Manatee County School Board found that there was no evidence Cropsey cheated on the FCAT. But it fired her anyway for not cooperating with the district's investigation.
It is not clear how widespread the implications of the ruling could be, but Bowen said it could impact public employers across Florida.
"They have basically said that an employee can, at the advice of an attorney, disobey what their employer tells them to do, which is a novel concept," Bowen said.
Bowen said the district can appeal the judge's decision to the state Supreme Court or ask for a rehearing in the second district. He said he needs to review the ruling before making a recommendation to the board.
Cropsey said she is ready to keep fighting if the district chooses to appeal.
"They're not going to wear me down," Cropsey said.
Cropsey said she had an extremely difficult time finding a job after the district accused her of FCAT cheating. Eventually, she found a job at a charter high school in Manatee County.
"Once you accuse someone of cheating on the FCAT, pretty much the only thing worse is accusing someone of molesting a child," Cropsey said.
Your request has been forwarded to our information office. However, I do not believe that we give out our teacher's address and phone numbers. At least, I hope we don't give them out to everyone who requests them for the sake of our teacher's safety. I am surprised by your allegations the district hired Mixon and Assoc after Dr. Hamilton went to work for them. I have only been on the board for 2-1/2 years and am not aware of that history. Where did you get this information? I am also puzzled as to why you want the specific information you requested. Perhaps if you shared that with me, I might be able to answer your concerns.
Shirley Brown, Member Dist 4
Sarasota County School Board
Board Member Brown:
I know that in
This is my way of contacting a teacher in trouble like Ms. Cropsy to let her know that she has my concern and support. I was the union president at the college at which I taught for 28 years as Professor of English before retiring. What union members used to complain about was when there was any whiff of trouble about them that they became pariahs.
Unfortunately, that is the way it is. People at schools are so afraid to say anything that they think will rile the administration that they even avoid other teachers who run athwart the administration through no fault of their own. So these people feel deserted.
I agree with most of the people whose comments I attached who wrote to the paper. Our country was founded on freedom of religion, so I believe Ms. Cropsy has the right of not attending or approving of the morning prayer session. I think she has the right to complain about it. We would be a dictatorship if we didn't have the First Amendment. So Ms. Cropsy has the right to criticize a public institution's promoting religion. It sounds to me as if the
I tried to get a copy of the message I sent you to your attorney, but his has bounced back. Perhaps you would be kind enough to forward a copy to the board secretary and ask her to forward it to the attorney and the superintendent and anybody else who you think should have it. I think it should be posted school wide. It concerns an issue that touches all the employees and the student body as well. I don't think the attorney's behavior has been coincident with the best practices of attorneys. He could have told the principal that Ms. Cropsy's lawyer had advised her not to attend the meeting and revealed to her attorney that she would be fired if she didn't. It looks like Mr. Rio wants to fire Ms. Cropsy because the schools lost against her in court, and he wants to get back at her. That does not signal the best leadership from a principal. I call his behavior administrative misconduct and apply the same assessment to the school lawyer's.
I also question the logic of not letting a person bring in counsel for such meetings as that set up by Mr. Rio for Ms. Cropsy. I don't know how the union has let the Board get away with that deprivation of members' rights. It's not ethical and probably unconstitutional.
The person under the threat of firing needs a lawyer in such crises of employment. It's dumb to go into a meeting without an attorney when you suspect you are being set up.
Your board business of being Dr. Hamilton's lobbying client was on Dr. Hamilton's own company's lobbying Web page marked 1/5; then your schools appeared as the client of Mixon on 1/6. Check with your superintendent. He or she should know. My inference is that he made a recommendation of hiring Dr. Hamilton in both cases.
My suspicion is that Dr. Hamilton got both jobs without their being advertised. I don't see how we are ever going to see equal opportunity in hiring at the administrative level in
I don't see why the board allows the expense of a lobbyist in this economic situation. Schools are laying off vital personnel and yet keeping these lobbyists on the payroll. That does not make financial and ethical sense. I believe that your school has federal contracts. I hope you check up on that situation in your schools and bring it up for board discussion. An elected body should not be supporting unfair hiring practices that shut all but the in-crowd from applying for jobs.
Thank you for your concern for this issue. I hope you keep on it. And I also hope you will get the message to Teacher Cropsy that a former teacher in
Respectfully,
Lee Drury De Cesare-
----Original Message-----
From: Shirley Brown [mailto:shirley_brown@sarasota.k12.fl.us]
Sent:
To: lee
Subject: Re: Pubic-information request via Sarasota School Board Attorney John Bowen
Your request has been forwarded to our information office. However, I do not believe that we give out our teacher's address and phone numbers. At least, I hope we don't give them out to everyone who requests them for the sake of our teacher's safety. I am surprised by your allegations the district hired Mixon and Assoc after Dr. Hamilton went to work for them. I have only been on the board for 2-1/2 years and am not aware of that history. Where did you get this information? I am also puzzled as to why you want the specific information you requested. Perhaps if you shared that with me, I might be able to answer your concerns.
Shirley Brown, Member Dist 4
lee
Mr. Bowen, Attorney for
Please forward this request for public information to the Public Affairs office or whoever is in charge of sending out public information to citizens from the
I would like to have the address and telephone number of Ms. Mary Cropsy, third-grade teacher.
I request as well the address of the
I request also these data if, be my information correct, Sarasota County has hired Dr. James Hamilton, first, as its lobbyist (he listed the position for Sarasota County schools on his Web page) and then the change to Mixon Associates when Dr. Hamilton went to work at that firm as a consultant. That would involve two positions that the board board has granted Dr. Hamilton. I would like to have this public information for both jobs:
1. The venues in which the board advertised these separate jobs and the dates the ads ran;
2. A copy of the applications of all the people who applied for the job in addition to Dr. Hamilton;
3. The salary of the first job of lobbyist awarded to Dr. Hamilton in his own lobbying firm; the monthly fee or other system of payment to Mixon and Associates for the lobbying consulting now done by Sarasota School Board with Dr. Hamilton as employee consultant to Mixon's firm and whether the understanding of Sarasota county with Mixon is that Dr. Hamilton will continue to handle its lobbying needs;
4. The school-board notes for the occasions on which it discussed and decided the award of the lobbying jobs to Dr. Hamilton and Mixon and Associates ;
5. A copy of all the Federal grants that
6. A copy of the
Thank you.
Respectfully,
(Ms.) Lee Drury De Cesare
tdecesar@tampabay.rr.com
leedrurydecesarescasting-roomcouch.blogspot.com
1 comment:
Dear Ms. Cropsey, You appear to be a lovely and intelligent woman. Enough YOUNG BIMBOS at 'prayer' meetings. Who ever heard of such a thing??
At any rate, I have NOTHING AGAINST PRAYER but everything against someone trying to force someone else to do anything be it by intimidation or ostracization or violence.
I'm SOOO proud of you.
Have them light some candles for you at the next prayer meeting.
Good show, lee.
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