Investigation into Marty Daly’s PTA Conflict of Interest Raises More Conflict Questions for New BoE Veep Chrisanne Petrone

23 thoughts on “Investigation into Marty Daly’s PTA Conflict of Interest Raises More Conflict Questions for New BoE Veep Chrisanne Petrone”

1. wake up
   marty daly skills as a teacher are not in question one way or another. he has a marshmellow assignment at isaac; he is going through the contractu; motions and offers a good morning and announcment message to classes and faclties first thing (or at least he did). fair enough — he does what union leaders do at all disticts and otehr unions; enough to satisfy what is required via contactual arrangements.

   i REPEAT. martin daly is very,very good at what he does and the teachers and others covered by fuse have chosen wisely.

   here are the issues: (1) co-chair or chair is irrelevant of the PTA is irrevelant. he should not have any position, invited by pta members or othewise, it is a conflict of interest, period. besides those in new rochelle who apparently invite hinm to serve are frankly, out of their minds. he is neither a resident or parent. don;t you see that? he is a carpetbagger.

   and, more important, by teacher friend, he is by definition in an adversaral position with the board or should be. this is not a negtive word; it means that the board must protect the taxpayers interests and needs in collective bargaining and marty’s role and influence with the board and pecunia is negative, maybe even against the grain of the precepts of collective bargaining in nys and surely, the nlrb. are you a taxpayer of new rochelle? if not, step back a bit, if so, think about it further.

   if daly ran for political office I would likely volunteer to get the man elected. in sum, he is very good at what he does politically. as a teacher, he is pedestrian at best according to students i know, but so what? check out his class assignment and it is essentially on the low end of meaningfulness is terms of student achievements needs and SO WHAT –he is meeting his obligation

   frankly i am not terribly intersted in what he is being paid as he is surely not alone in this. what his situation is is not unusualy my objections are in his role in the pta, his influence on the board (he is smarter and more aware of the power of this relationship, his not infrequent “speaking for the board” on issues raised by taxpayers at meetings, etc.

   if you disagree with this, so be it, but martin daly needs to resign from all non union roles, restrict his involvement to simply advocating for his membership and strongly collective bargain for his constituents. that is it period.

   warren gross

2. citizens commission on civil rights july 09 report
   a little while back bob cox indicated where and how we could get copies of his report and as I recall his blog points, he coverd a number of the concerns raised by this report; both in comparison to the first report issued by the commission and citing a number of useful changes that could be made to imporve the education of all of our children and (2) how the actual FUSE contract, its support against the mandates of NCLB, and it major focus on accountability and student progress are not sustainable in plans of the national/local unions. It is this in mind that (1) I urge Chrisanne to put the citizens and children of New Rochelle foremost and challenge the institutionalized power and influence that Martin Daly of FUSE has over our collective bargaining, progress of our system and the actual configuration and body of our board, officials and contractual negotiations and terms. Chrissane must set the only possible moral and ethical example and that is to either resign from the board or from her review authority in the hierarchy of the Westchester PTA Council. She must also take it a step further and see that the conflict spreads to the explicit and implict power of Martin Daly in his dual capacity, actually triple capacity of union representative, pta co president, and teacher (not bad for a childless Yonkers guy.

   I encourage Chrisanne to read the report written by this eminent committee — there are some pretty remarkable people on the commttee such as William Taylor former US Director of Commission on Human Rights, Former Senator Birch Bayh, Former Senator Bill Bradley, Father Hesburgh ex President of Notre DAme, Eleanor Homes Norton, Congresswomen from the District of Columbia, and others. These are not trivial people.

   I want to simply mention a few salient points.

   1. core premise that “all children can learn.”
   2. besides the surety expressed in Brown vs Board of Education, equally, maybe even more legally compelling is violence done to Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 as amended by the 1994 Improving America’s School Act, which at the time was broadly supported by both national education third party organizatons, the AFT and the NEA.
   3. the support deteriorted, upon the deaths of the more enlighened leaders and especailly due to the adoptionn of the NCLB law of 1991.

   This law speaks for itself and can be easily accessed for specific provisions but the major grounds for contention have arisen since unions began to feel threatened by the twin towers of ACCOUNTABILITY AND ASSESSMENT. Among other matters they

   4. did not wish to have their rank and file measured by classroom performance (grade standards, for example, but as amended, not exclusively nor

   5. assessment — they largely objected to state mandated NCLB tests as being “only one measure” of progress, “required teaching to the test” and “reduced teacher creativity” to mention three objectives.

   some concessions have been made. one of the most dramatic examples of success is in NYC where performance has risen dramatically on the whole. Yet, even here perhaps overally assessment of schools has been somewhat watered down by the city’s adoption of improvement over actual performance and some evidence state-wide of “dumbing down” of test rssults.

   Rather than to contine pointing out how self-serving and destructive the union positions have been to the growth and development of our students, and how, frankly racist the implications that children of color cannot compete on level playing fields, let me cite a few of the more interesting points I remember from these 40 or so pages in the report.

   1. A former head of the AFT, Edward McElroy by name, in testifying before the Commission on No Child Left Behind, Washington D.C. September 25, 2006 said, “state tests should be aligned with curriculum if you are going to judge schools on tests then the test should measure what is being taught.” Duh, what a dumb thing to say and how clever he was to say it. He is alleging that, for ezample, fifth grade math students nationwide cannnot take the same test as the core curriculum for that subject and grade would be substantial different. Well, why should it be under a system that could and should set the proper bar for kids in cupdake south dakota, bedford stuyvesant new york, or wasilla alaska to attain. Are white kids more capable than black kids, or black kids more capable than native americans? define capable! the committees premise is that all chilcren can learn so it is the states responsibiity to get up to speed. this can be done remedially over a short term and accounted for in any criteria that seemingly punishes short term unachievement. Not a big deal — what is a big deal is that the unions look at any sensible remedial action such as MAKING THIS MUCH MORE POSSIBLE by not agreeing to putting the best teachers in the schools that need them the most and surely, the best administrative staff to make this happen. There are certainly incnetive programs on the table, charter schools ready and able to take up the challenge but,,,,,,

   where the hell is marty daly on this as if Ihave to ask? where is richard organisciak at contract negotiaion time? where is the board on review on district performance — it has been slipping even in the age of dumbing down and irrational complaints that NCLB means only “teaching to the test” Wake up school board and that means your Chrissane — you have a moral and ethical responsbility to read this and other reports of this type and represent the voters. One of your colleagues has a copy of this report as I sent it to him and that will remain our secret. David Lacher, you have mentioned in the past that the role of New Rochelle HS is to prepare our kids for the “global economy.” Dave, it ain’t going to happen unless you bury your elbows into material like this and begin by appointing Organisicial as Ambassador to Suffolk if that what it takes to pay him off.

   1. finally two points, the first being the code used by unions called using “multiple measurss’ to evaluate performance. Don’t be fooled by this ruse to bring in non-related performance criteria. there may be some other measures indeed, but if there are, make sure they speak to the product and service being required because board, you are overseeing a quarter of a billion dollar budgeted business, with a diminishing set of productivity stnadards, a lowering of expectations, and a senior team that is way, way over their collective heads. Add this to the fact that the most productive guy in the system is the union guy, you got a real problem,

   in conclusion, the report briefly cites a Mr Paul Hill of the Center for Reinventing Public Education — Casey Foundation. Hill has published a number of important studies on school boards while associated with CRPE as well as the Progessive Policy Institute His focus is on school board performance and the decentralization or devolving of school boards and board decision making as well as accountability to the public. Very much influenced the work in place in New York City, Seattle, Houston, Cleveland, among others. Big reports, bigger impact. available to any board member on request.

   Chrisanne, Sara, David, Jeffrey, we or surely I want you to succeed as everything positive step means our city prospers as a place for new residents to come, our students compete nationally and internationally, and they have a framework and basis for competing in the global market place. it is literally up to you all

   warren gross

3. How about some facts?
   I am a teacher in New Rochelle. I have also been involved in the PTA. I have read with great interest the posts about FUSE president Martin Daly. In the interest of fairness and accuracy, please allow me to make the following points.

   1. Daly is not President of the PTA, he is Co-President of the PTA Council, serving a two year term (2008-2010) with a parent from ALMS or Ward. It is my understanding that he was invited to take on this role by the previous co-presidents. In June of 2010, new co-presidents will be installed.
   2. The role of the PTA Council is to provide a forum for the exchange of information among PTA units in each of the buildings. It has no policy making role at all. PTA units are not the forum for addressing concerns about teachers or evaluating their performance. Individual or groups of parents with such problems should be directed to school or district administrators
   3. Daly teaches one or two classes per day and is paid a full salary – this is part of the FUSE contract. This is not new – prior to Daly’s election in 2002, his predecessors enjoyed the same benefit. It is not unusual for union leaders, particularly of larger locals, to be given “release time” to attend to the business of the union and the school district. There is nothing illlegal , immoral or “shady” about such an agreement.

   1. These are your “facts”?
      We do not actually KNOW that you are a teacher because you are just an anonymous commenter on a web site. If you want CREDIT for being someone or having some background you are going to need to register or otherwise positively identify yourself. For all we know you are Marty’s secretary or mom.

      Let’s take a look at your “facts”.

      1. PTA v. PTA Council and President v. Co-President. Pure semantics. The point is that the head of the union sits atop this organization, what you call it is irrelevant. That other people of the same ilk asked Daly to take the job is meaningless but since you seem to know why not tell us who you are talking about. Which co-presidents did you have in mind? And if this organization as independent as you seem to want to imply, why would co-presidents be in a position to offer this job to Daly? Regardless, does it say anything at all to you that New Rochelle is the ONLY school district in New York State where the head of the teacher’s union is also the head of the PTA? Oh, and by the way, the description of Marty as President of the “PTA” and not “PTA Council” comes straight from former BoE President Cindy Babcock-Deutsch at the August 2008 meeting where she gleefully announced the news.

      2. I have no idea what the real role of the PTA Council is but as best I can tell it is to fall in line behind the school board to endorse their budget proposals, to be a breeding ground for school board candidates willing to endorse the status quo and otherwise serve as yet another propaganda arm for the school district.

      3. Daly teaches ONE CLASS. Not two. ONE. Last year, I believe, he was paid $105,000. Someone can check that if they have more info but it was over 100K. At least we agree he is paid a full salary. You left out the full benefits he gets — and full pension credits for each year since 2002 for working a less than 20% work day. Your argument that this is OK because “that’s the way it’s always been done” is entirely the point. The way it has always been done has always been corrupt. This sounds like Daly’s argument that workers stealing vans, insurance, fuel, repair services and school supplies is all OK because it is a “past practice”. You can justify any sort of corrupt practice with that logic.

      The topper though is this:

      “It is not unusual for union leaders, particularly of larger locals, to be given “release time”

      Really? Name one.

      This is ENTIRELY false. You must not know much about the labor movement or labor law. It is extremely unusual and absolutely not typical for a union local president to actually work for the organization with whom he engages in collective bargaining. You know why? Because it is a clear conflict of interest. In most situations, union members would be more than a bit leery that their union boss was being paid off by the company or organization. Of course, no one worries about that in New Rochelle because the union screens, funds and otherwise elects candidates so it’s all one big happy family.

      BTW, here is another fact for you. If we are to believe your claim, you are a member of the union run by the guy you are defending, right?

      1. I am neither Daly’s mom
         I am neither Daly’s mom nor secretary.

         I do not know who the former co-presidents were who suggested that Day become co-president for the 2008-2010 term. My point was simply that this was not something that Daly sought after – it was offered to him. I do not know his motives for accepting the position. It could be to help strengthen the bonds between parents and teachers (It is the Parent Teacher Association, after all), however you attribute questionable motives to him – consolidating a power base, protecting his members. I haven’t seen any evidence put forward to support your claim –other than your insisting that it is so.

         I believe there have been years where Daly has taught two periods since becoming president of FUSE. Why don’t you FOIL it and find out?

         I cannot think of any teacher unions where the president of the union is not also an employee of the school district. I know for a fact the presidents of Yonkers, Scarsdale, White Plains, Bronxville, Mount Vernon, Harrison and Valhalla school districts are all teachers in their respective districts. Can you name one public school district where the president of the teachers’ local union is not an employee of the school district?

         You asked me to name one district where the president of the union gets release time besides New Rochelle? Yonkers, Mount Vernon, Harrison and White Plains presidents have reduced teaching schedules (with, I believe, no reduction in salary) in order to conduct union business day I am sure there are more. This “corrupt practice” is indeed very widespread, and not so corrupt after all.

         And yes, I am a member of the FUSE . I am not so much trying to defend Daly but to add some even handedness and accuracy to this discussion.

      2. We don’t know WHO you are…
         or to put in terms you might understand…

         “I haven’t seen any evidence put forward to support your claim – other than your insisting that it is so.”

         As you are the one making the claim about Marty Daly’s teaching scheduled why don’t YOU file a FOIL request and publish what you get back here. I can save you the trouble, the district will not turn over this sort of information unless they are sued and lose in court — and then only maybe.

         As for your claims about unions and release time, you are simply insisting it is so, not actually backing up your claims. Regardless, the fact that a practice is widespread does not make it less corrupt. However, you said “unions” and now I guess you want to say “teachers unions”. So you want to toss out every other kind of union, right? And what proof do you offer that other districts do the same thing that is done here?

         In any case, I do not really case what is done elsewhere. I care about what is done here.

         Consider that Marty Daly has “earned” 7 years full salary and accrued 7 years towards his retirement and in all that time, if he is teaching one class a day, he actually worked less than 14% of the time which is LESS THAN ONE FULL YEAR during that period since 2002.

         That’s some deal for him but not so good for the people who have to pay for it — everyone else.

         Last year he made $105,000. He worked less than 180 hours.

         You want to do the math?

         He is being paid $583 an hour.

         Marty gets paid to run the union. Apparently he gets paid to run some fund as well. On top of that we have to pay him $583 an hour? How about we bring some sanity back to that contract. Let him keep his benefits and even his pension but let’s at least pay him just for the time he actually works not phantom hours.

      3. Daly
         I did FOIL it and i have the response confirming that Mr. Daly does indeed work only one period per day and that this is part of the F.U.S.E. contract.

         J. Wagner

   2. PTA Role
      I think the role of the PTA is to improve the children’s learning experience and make sure the school is performing well, too. If a parent has a problem that is not resolved by a teacher, and then not by the administration, and then not by the school board, I would think that the PTA and then PTA council could help. If the PTA council is run, at least partially, by the union president, that parent is truly getting the run around.

   3. Release yes, but not on our tab
      Yes, union presidents do get released to do union work, but it is uncommon to have this release be at taxpayer expense. The economic relationship between NRED and Marty Daly is extremely rare and benefits solely Mr. Daly. So if the predecessors did it also, it doesn’t make it right, fair or just. Typical entitlement BS. Most union release delegates, business agents or presidents are paid directly by the Union. Favoritism and chronism has never been manifested so beautifully. It smells bad, but unfortunately the school board can’t smell it.

   4. “how about some facts?” How about some questions
      First of all if you’re interested in fairness and accuracy , the Daly-BoE-PTA issue is Not the place to find it no matter how hard you look . For the dolts who blindly defend every critique about the “system” let me point out some “facts”
      -It IS the worst economic time most of us have
      ever seen
      -In EVERY walk of life ,business or profession ,
      there has been a reevaluation of the way things
      “have” been done and how they need to change
      to be sustainable in this climate
      -Concessions , cutbacks , altered work schedules ,
      reductions in insurance , or the complete
      elimination of such, is now the norm , not
      to raise a bottom line , but to survive
      -MANY districts have held costs flat , or shown
      increases along the 2% range.
      -Now , a couple of lines from the NYSUT Code of Ethics Framework ;
      -foster an environment of trust, integrity, transparency and accountability in the management and operations of the local association or benefit fund;
      -A conflict of interest arises whenever a local leader, benefit fund trustee or employee has an interest with an individual or organization that has or is seeking to enter into a transaction, arrangement or other relationship with the local association or benefit fund, including, without limitation, an endorsement arrangement, or stands to obtain a benefit therefrom. Conflicts of interest or the “appearance” of a conflict of interest should be avoided.
      Now , maybe , you’ll see why people are frustrated . You can split hairs all day and you won’t be able to defend what is perceived to be a conflict of interest , and after looking beyond the first blush , proves, a conflict exists .
      Questions
      -Why a parent from ALMS or Ward ? (is that where the voting “powerbase exists?)
      -Was he invited , or “groomed” for the position . It happens “all the time” – so does incest and that isn’t right either. Political groups ALWAYS pave the way for their next heir apparent to insure status quo remains the same . Are you with me on that ?
      -If there is an issue with teachers or evaluations and the parent gets nowhere with your “school or district administrators” the PTA is EXACTLY the next place to turn . There is case after case that gets the runaround by the board who knows that if they hold out long enough people will exhaust their energy and give up . Unless of course they secure assistance and support from the local PTA . The PTA and PTSE constantly work to resolve issues . So how does the head of the union being questioned switch hats and suddenly become the advocate for those who challenge his rank and file ? You need to be ignorant or blind not to see THAT conflict. Check out the PTA page at http://www.nyspta.org/about/purposes.cfm and see who THEY advocate for . It’s not FUSE
      -Release time? are you kidding . NOBODY gets as much time as my favorite martian . If he needs that much time to deal with his union business he needs to let the union pick up the bill for that . In case you haven’t noticed , it’s MY money . He wasn’t bestowed this bounty on merit ,you dolt , he wrangled the most money he could get away with without being caught . He did it BEHIND CLOSED DOORS with no transparency or accountability . When you’re on both sides of the bargaining table it’s easy to screw the public . He is paid way more release time than any other district . So Mrs Daly or whoever you are let’s put it all out on the table and let the public decide . My guess is that you wouldn’t dare let the taxpayer see what goes on for fear of the torches and pitchforks . Isn’t that why they (you) won’t televise the meetings ? Skirting the law – absolutely , shady – (behind closed doors , no transparency , representing two sides of bargaining unit) you bet your diploma it’s shady, last but not least immoral – wow , if you told me a board member crashed their car along North Ave one night and Mr Daly took the money from their wallet while looking for ID , I wouldn’t be surprised . He’s been picking my pocket all along .

4. Here’s your transparency
   This is their idea of transparency . They plot their gambit , execute it and then flaunt it right in front of us for all to see . They pull this crap right in front of our eyes and we can’t stop them . Was this David Lachers “context” he spoke of at the overthrow board meeting when Petrone was thrust into greatness ? Was this the “whole story’ Deutch alluded to ? What can a person do because this is making me sick . They should be ashamed . Unless of course Petrone steps down from the PTA and they dump the Martian Guy .

5. maybe she will respond
   sometime in the recent past you mentioned that she was very quiet during board meetings almost to the point of being intimidated (my interpretation and not your words). recently we see that she was part of a suprising board action to go against past precedent and so was elected as second in command of the current board.

   maybe, possibly, hopefully, she is someone who is not only well qualified via resume (a real exception on this board) to be a trustee and that being the case will respond to the apparent conflict of interest in her outside the board role and either resign or recuse when needed.

   lets ask her — either by sending the blog to her and/or providing her email address for bloggers to pose the question directly.

   in addition, the most relevant question is whether she will raise the issue of asking daly to resign given his union role, residency, and non-parent status.

   i am an optomist as you know and i would really want this young woman to succeed and be part of a board turnaround.

   give her a chance — no more, no less

   warren gross

   1. Chrisanne COULD be an asset on the board
      She is smart and as an accountant she brings a skill set sorely lacking on the school board. The problem is always the same, whether people like her will be able to go into the sort of closed system that our BoE has become and bring about substantive changes. From what I have seen — and learned from people with far more experience than me — the little group that runs things chews up people like her and spits them out for breakfast.

      You are more than welcome to ask her questions. She, like most members of the school board, will not even look me in the eye let alone speak to me. Apparently the BoE folks don’t like me too much :-(. Too bad, huh?

      Oh well, if you want a friend in this town, buy a dog!

      1. If she is TRULY looking to make ‘substantive changes’…
         …and is honest and accountable to her constituents, then she will garner our respect and we (as stakeholders) will do our best to keep her off the ‘breakfast’ menu. 🙂

         Let’s hope she is the ‘asset’ we’ve been looking for and not just yesterday’s toast.

6. This is just sickening.
   Really. After reading this I felt physically sick to my stomach. The incestuous relationships are so embedded; layer upon layer. How can we as parents ever get through this tangled web of deceit? Doesn’t anyone understand what ‘CONFLICT OF INTEREST’ means? This post would be down right laughable if it weren’t so terribly damaging for the children of New Rochelle.

   Stop the insanity! New Rochelle will never be able to reach it’s potential with these shenanigans going on.

7. God bless Chrisanne Petrone…
   For all her hard work and dedication to the well being of the children of the New Rochelle. We should only have more people like her to dedicate their free time towards the well being of our great city! Thank you Chrisanne!

   1. A question of ethics.
      Ms. Petrone may very well be a hard working and dedicated individual. I have no way of knowing that. BUT, now that she has been sworn in as VP of the BoE, she has the opportunity of showing us if she REALLY is dedicated to the ‘well being of the children’ and ‘the well being of our great city’. She should resign as Regional Director of NY State’s PTA Board.

      In addition, Mr. Daly MUST resign from either his duties as President of the Teacher’s Union or as President of the PTA Council IMMEDIATELY. It’s an easy choice; pick ONE.

      And you will then be correct; God will bless those who choose to do the RIGHT thing.

      1. Daly/Petrone
         I agree with Iheartnewro..they both have to resign..and we all know which “job” if any Daly’s picking. He wont be leaving the Union, then he wouldnt be able to leave school early and would actually have to teach all day.

      2. Hello, DT.
         Yes, I believe the PTA Council position is a volunteer position and his only loss would be the ability to exert influence on other members and not monetary. So, true, not likely Mr. Daly will leave the cushy paying job(s).

         On the other hand, although Ms. Petrone’s two jobs are not paid positions(?), the BoE seat was entrusted to her by NR residents whereas the NYS position was not. Therefore, I believe her loyalty must lie with the voters.

8. The reason Daly only teaches
   The reason Daly only teaches one class is because he gets to leave every day around 12ish to step into his president job for FUSE, AND collects his regular pay as teacher as if he was puttting in a full day of work, PLUS gets paid for FUSE position.
   The VP of FUSE does the same thing, leaving her job early while collecting her full salary as Kennys right hand girl…and to boot they even hire a temp on top of it to fulfill the rest of her duties.
   NICE COUNTRY AMERICA!!!

   1. Is Daly Stealing From New Rochelle – I Think So
      If you look around at other districts , teachers are paid according to the union negotiated scale , adjusted for their status regarding full / part time . A 1.0 teacher is full time – full pay , a .5 teacher works one half of a week for one half of the negotiated salary . So how does this “person” warrant a full time salary for what is ostensibly a .2 position ? Easy he STEALS it from the taxpayers with the blessing of Mr O and his crew . Go ahead , ask them about this and see what kind of answer you get . It’s ALL wrong , legal – maybe , immoral – you betcha . ( Do you appreciate your tax bill NOW ?)

   2. Great Man.. Martin Daly
      We should be forever greatful for Martin Daly! He’s a great man and an excellent educator who is one of New Rochelle’s greatest assets!

9. Holy Cow!
   Are we nuts??

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