The case to end teacher tenure, example 5,381

Another heartwarming story of America’s public education system comes to us from Washington Heights in New York. First grade teacher Ann Legra ran into a few performance issues while carrying out her duties in caring for and educating the city’s youngest students. Well, perhaps more than a few.

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Ann Legra, 44, a first-grade teacher at PS 173 in Washington Heights, racked up “six years of failing her students,” the city ­argued in a 16-day termination hearing.

Hearing officer Eugene Ginsberg upheld charges of Legra’s “inability to supervise students,” excessive lateness and absence and poor lesson planning in the 2012-2013 school year…

“Students up out of their seats, at least one was running, another was demonstrating karate moves on the closet door and the majority of the students were not involved in anything instructional — an issue that has repeatedly plagued your tenure as a classroom teacher,” he wrote at the time.

Three of her 6-year-olds were injured in a classroom melee that day, he added.

Amid the “mayhem,” Goodman wrote, Legra was “buried in a corner at a computer table” where she could not monitor all the kids.

The good news is that Ms. Legra was immediately let go and her replacement has been raising standards and bringing a quality education to the children under her charge.

Naw… I’m just kidding. She’s still on the payroll.

But Ginsberg dismissed evidence that Legra was a lousy instructor, saying she didn’t get enough coaching.

He imposed only a 45-day suspension without pay. Legra keeps her $84,500-a-year salary, but is now assigned to a pool of 1,400 teachers who serve as substitutes.

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This woman is still collecting a taxpayer funded salary in excess of well more than half of the country and being sent out on temporary teaching assignments. But at least she’s grateful for that and will be giving back to the community.

Nope. Just kidding again. She’s suing the government which provides her with this permanent payday.

Legra later claimed she was ­harassed and targeted because of her high salary.

“They really want to get rid of workers who are there for a long time,” she said. She also complained she had no help with some special-needs kids.

Legal has since filed a federal lawsuit against the DOE, charging discrimination based on her race, gender, national origin and medical disability.

Someone who doesn’t show up for work (or is late when they do so) and let’s the kids run wild while providing no discipline or instruction was apparently the victim of discrimination based on race, gender, national origin and medical disability. She’s still drawing an $84,500 salary and is suing the city on top of all that. And they can’t fire her.

Stop and think about that. I know we get readers here from all walks of life, ranging from lawyers and doctors to cab drivers and construction workers. How many of you could get away with even failing to show up (or be late for) work for over one month out of nine, to say nothing of completely failing to perform your designated duties and not be on the unemployment line? Do any of you work in fields where there is some mystical “pool” of standby workers where you still get your full pay on the off chance that another work assignment will open which needs somebody that has totally failed to perform at their last job?

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This is the tenure system and the example above is what it has wrought. And the icing on this tasty cupcake is that the taxpayers get to foot the bill. Enjoy, folks! And don’t worry about reforming our educational system or offering school choice for parents. The old system is working just fine.

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David Strom 6:00 AM | April 25, 2024
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