New Rochelle Board of Education Passes Phony 211 Waiver Resolution

Written By: Robert Cox

On 9/29, the BoE passed resolution 10-110 regarding 211 waivers for Bruce Daniele, Robert Coyne and Rolf Koehler. The criteria laid out in the resolution do not comport with the Post-October 7, 2008 Statutory Criteria for 211 Waivers because the district has not prepared a detailed recruitment plan for these positions or undertaken extensive recruitment efforts. The district has not demonstrated that there is an urgent need for their services. The vacancies they filled are not unplanned, unpredictable, or unexpected nor are thee appointments being treated as non-permanent as they appear to be the final filling of the position. It is hard to imagine in the current job market there are NO available, qualified non-retirees.

In either case, the resolution says that the three men were recruited based on their prior service as NRPD officers. This is not correct. As Rolf Koehler did not serve with the NRPD I have asked the Board of Education whether the the District amend the resolution and resubmit it to the board.

NOTE: There were some rumors going around the school district today that the issue of how much these three employees were being paid was raised at the Board meeting last night. The above statement is copied from the exact words I delivered last night and that issue was not raised. As far as I know Bruce Danieli is a good guy who has done a good job for the District. The issue here is no whether he should work for the District but whether he and the other two employees are entitled to both draw their New York State pension and receive a full salary from the district. The answer is clear; they are not entitled to get both a salary and pension payments while filling their current positions. That this waive is only now being sought for Danieli who has worked for the district for at least four years is particularly troubling as it appears that in asking for the 211 waiver now he may well have been getting his pension and salary simultaneously when he was not entitled to do that.