Editor's Note: David Pakter is a teacher who will teach again.
His lesson will be perhaps not for the children he taught at the High School of Art and Design in New York City, but for adult learners who need to know how to stop the abuse by the New York City Department of Education of teachers who whistleblow what is happening in the City Schools. David videotaped an elementary school class with mostly white children taking music inside his mostly minority high school, the High School of Art and Design. The principal there pulled the music program because 'minority children dont need music'. After David refused to give the principal the video, David was thrown out and spent a year in a rubber room, first in New York City and then in Brooklyn. He demanded a hearing.
At his hearing, the Hearing Officer would not consider whether or not he was a good teacher, because all of the children and parents and staff thought that he was a good teacher. He was being terminated for "insubordination".
Then he was told that he had to see a psychiatrist:
HEARING OFFICER REASSIGNMENT NOTICE dated: July 13, 2005
NYSUT
Legal Department - New York City
52 Broadway
New York, NY 10004
Mr. Christopher Callagy, Esq.
Associate Senior Counsel
New York State Teachers
Re: In the Matter of New York City Dept. of Education Vs. David Pakter, M.A., M.F.A.
Dear Chris:
I have received a letter from the State Education Department, Albany, informing me that the original Hearing Officer in this case, Howard Edelman, Esq., is being replaced effective immediately by Martin F. Scheinman, Esq., of 38 Arden Lane, Sands Point, NY 11050, (516) 944-1700.
In regard to this development and per your previous instructions to me that all matters pertaining to this case should be issued through your office:
1) I would appreciate your memorializing my request for a Public Trial, in writing, on your letter head to the State Education Dept, Albany (with cc to my address)
2) Please inform me if you received a similar notice and if not I will fax you my copy.
3) In light of the fact that this development has occurred at this juncture in the proceedings I will be meeting with a Judge this weekend who has Knowledge of the new Hearing Officer, which is germane to this late change in the case.
4) I believe you are aware that the Medical Office has set up an appointment for me to meet with a Psychologist by the name of Dr. Richard Schuster, Ph.D., Panel Psychologist, at "Comprehensive Rehabilitation Consultants", at 275 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, on Friday, August 19, 2005.
I wish to again lodge a formal complaint regarding this further harassment based on a letter written by a Mr. John Lachky. Mr. Lachky's letter, which was mailed to both the Administrator of the Medical Bureau, as well as the Executive Director of the Division of Human Resources, for the DOE, is a clear attempt to smear my stellar reputation as a Teacher of the Year, with thinly veiled suggestions of impropriety on my part, based on obfuscation, distortion and outright lies. In short the typical DOE tactics. (One would have thought this type of KGB like behavior ended with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the breakup of the former Soviet Union). Alas, while some countries once had their most brilliant scientists committed to Mental Hospitals if they did not tow the party line, in Chancellor Joel Klein's New York, critics are allowed to languish in Rubber Rooms, sometimes for years.
All of the above will become readily apparent during Discovery and your skillful Cross-Examination as to the real facts in this matter. The Discovery should, needless to say include all parties who were involved and personally participated in this base attempt to smear and tarnish my reputation of 37 years as an Honored Educator who was personally decorated by former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani in a ceremony that took place in City Hall (with over four hundred invited guests attending).
Defaming a person's reputation is a serious act that carries with it specific legal remedies- something, perhaps Mr. Lachky should have considered before he embarked on such a reckless course of action. I am informed by legal counsel that the fact that Mr. Lachky has chosen to retire from the DOE so soon after his predecessor, as Principal, will in no way shield him from the consequences of his ill considered actions and Machiavellian behavior in the present case..."
He asked me and prominent Dr. Goldwaser to attend with him, and the rest is history.
David's case needs to be replicated nationally. Dont forget your secret tape recorders, friendly reporter, and favorite shrink.
Betsy Combier
"The Wheels of Justice Turn Slowly-
But They Grind Exceeding Fine" I met today with Christopher M. Callagy, Esq., reputed to be one of the the foremost Labor Litigators one could ever hope to encounter anywhere. Following are the outcomes of that long meeting which reflect that sometimes attaining Justice is a matter of how hard one wants to fight for it and how long one is willing to wait,
1) Mr. Callagy has assured me the City can not deprive me of a full trial and he is filing the necessary papers to demand a Second Expert Opinion as to whether it is true that I am "unfit for duty". And despite the fact that I was honored in City Hall by the late Mayor Rudolph Giuliani for my Outstanding Achievement as an Educator.
2) Since the "Second Opinion" will come from a person under the thumb of the City it will be necessary for me to identify my own experts independently, which is under way. I will not name them here because it is critical no one know the identities of my own experts, lest pressure be brought to bare on said individuals.
3) The City is assigning a new Hearing Officer to this case, a man I am informed is quite established and well respected in the Legal community in New York.
4) We will be able to Subpoena all the individuals we need to, in order expose all the salient facts in this case during a long protracted Discovery.
As Lao Tzu correctly noted:
Heaven's net casts wide;
Though its meshes are coarse,
Nothing slips through. 5) Due to the fact that in the "Wizard of Oz" world of the DOE, (where one is guilty until proven innocent), I remain accused of being "unfit for duty" which means my salary has been frozen. The City is hoping that "by cutting off the oil pipe line" that they can starve me out, and that I will throw in the towel and retire in order to restart the financial stream to my bank account. They are hoping in vain! Though what this rather sordid maneuver does prove, once again, is that there is virtually no level to which the NY Dept. of Education will not sink in order to crush dissent and maintain their iron grip over teachers through fear and intimidation.
6) My attorney believes the "Preliminary Hearing" will take place as early as Sept. 14. The City may well try to settle to avoid the Discovery process and getting forced into facing months of calling witnesses and testimony. However, the adversaries I am dealing with are so vindictive that it is equally to be expected they will go forward with a trial, that could last a year, in the deluded hope they can wear me down.
Again, one would be very foolish to place any money on the DOE's position in the "Matter of the New York City Dept. of Education v. David Pakter".
7) My attorney will be issuing formal Demands immediately under the Federal HIPAA Act of 1996 to force the DOE to release all the "so called Medical Evidence" they claim justifies labeling me as "unfit for duty". This will include all Test results, memos, faxes, Emails and interview notes in my Medical Files. My attorney will also be investigating any and all additional HIPAA Violations which may have occurred during the past several months relating to this case.
8) The entire meeting today with my attorney was attended by an individual whose Father was a former Assistant Attorney General of NY State. This person is highly involved in monitoring corruption in the New York Dept. of Education and the breaking of both NY State as well as Federal laws respecting Teacher Protections and Due Process Violations. She believes, unlike some, in the Rule of Law. Bless her for that.
9) I will have my "day in court" after all, albeit at the cost of seeing my salary frozen during the duration of the Trial. At such time as I may be fully vindicated it is possible a new legal battle may ensue for the purpose of recovering lost wages that were denied me by the DOE.
Sometimes Justice comes with a price.
In Life, however, there are times when the consideration of money is secondary.
As it has been wisely stated:
"FOR WHAT SHALL IT PROFIT A MAN IF HE SHALL GAIN THE WHOLE WORLD,
BUT LOSE HIS OWN SOUL"
As I wrote to someone a while ago, when Rosa Parks boarded a bus, almost half a century ago, she was tired and just looking to get home. She could not have known on that day, that she was about to embark on a Journey into History.
Sometimes in Life it is not we, who choose our battles, but Destiny who chooses our battles for us. Over forty years ago I read Jonathan Kozol's shattering expose "DEATH AT AN EARLY AGE" about the destruction of the hearts and minds of inner city, at risk children, in the Boston slums. Anyone who ever read the book knows he was fired for the "crime" of reading a poem by the great Black poet Langston Hughes to his ALL BLACK elementary school class.
Forty years after Jonathan Kozol learned first hand the meaning of racism, I was removed from a school in New York City because I would not surrender a film I made reflecting a terrible crime. The film documented the fact that with very few exceptions, the only children in a school building, a stone's throw from Sutton Place, were the White students. The day after I refused to surrender that film, the Principal
unexpectedly retired. But not without first having me removed from the school where I had built the first HS Medical Illustration Program in the Nation.
I come from a family that taught me that one does the "right thing" because any other choice is not an acceptable option. It never was and it never will be.
Not for me, not for anyone.
THE WHEELS OF JUSTICE TURN SLOWLY
BUT THEY GRIND (and will grind) EXCEEDING FINE
One Man's Quest For Justice As DOE Doctor Recants False Claims by David Pakter
[The document can be found on the ParentAdvocates.Org site.] It is the first such letter ever released by any Director of the New York City Department of Education Medical Office.
In a certain sense, it is an historical document, if not on a level with the United States Constitution, at least ranking a close second in that it embodies the concept that no one is above the law, not even that august entity known as The New York City Department of Education.
The only other person who ever obtained such a victory was the teacher Francine Newman, in the 1970's who spent eight years in court litigation, only finally achieving vindication in a jury trial in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
See her important book: "
THE CANNIBALS AT 110 LIVINGSTON ST."
That building address in Brooklyn, was for half a century the official headquarters of the New York City Board of Education until Joel Klein, Esq. became Chancellor. Mayor Michael Bloomberg moved the headquarters to a palatial marble edifice in Manhattan located at 52 Chambers Street near City Hall and renamed his new domain, The New York City Department of Education.
Ironically, 52 Chambers Street, a century ago was the headquarters of a monstrously corrupt political organization known as Tammany Hall that was headed by the notorious "Boss Tweed". Even today the building is still referred to as The Tweed Building- amazingly even by its present residents, who no doubt fail to see the irony of conferring on their address that appellation, given that within those marbled walls, many hideously unjust decisions were made a century ago by Boss Tweed, and from which building some
fairly immoral and unethical decisions continue to emanate today.
It is believed Mayor Bloomberg spent over 50,000,000 dollars on refurbishing the Tweed Building although to my knowledge, the total cost has never been made public to New York's taxpayers. The degree of lavish spending, worthy of Boss Tweed himself, in relocating the Education Department from Brooklyn to Manhattan must have been felt to be a little excessive. Perhaps some involved may have believed the public would view the cost of the move as a source of embarrassment. Especially in view of the fact that the real embarrassment should come from the fact that major inequities abound in the New York City Education Establishment. An education system that is really two education systems-one for the "have's" and one for the "have not's". Something the author Jonathan Kozol (DEATH AT AN EARLY AGE) refers to in his most recent work, as "The Shame of the Nation".
But then what is 50,000,000 dollars in a system whose annual budget has now passed the 17 billion dollar mark. Unless of course you happen to be a student in a school whose roof leaks and which lacks such necessities as up to date books and exposure to music- even if for only 30 minutes per week. (studies have demonstrated that exposure to music can raise a child's reading scores on nationally standardized reading tests by as much as 40 %).
In a strange twist of fate, at the time I was illegally removed from The High School of Art and Design, (because I refused to surrender a video tape I had made documenting egregious Federal Civil Rights violations occurring at the school), the former Education Dept headquarters, located at 110 Livingston St. had become a mostly empty and abandoned building. It was there that the New York City Dept of Education had set up one of their infamous "Rubber Rooms" to house some of the many teachers who had been accused (or framed) of some infraction- real or imagined.
As 110 Livingston St. was a mostly empty ghost of a building, a little exploration soon led me to discover that on the very floor I had been assigned, (to languish in obscurity at tax payer expense), was the former Chancellor's Office. I immediately appropriated that high ceilinged room with its gloriously tall windows, for my own use, believing it was only fitting that I begin to draft my legal case against the powerful New York City Department of Education, sitting in the seat of a former Chancellor. And with all my legal documents and papers spread out upon the imposing desk of a man who once wielded the ultimate
power over the fate of every single teacher in New York City, I believed I was embarking on a long but very important journey.
The attached document, perhaps the first of its kind, is the (partial) fruit of all those labors.
One might well refer to all those hours expended as one man's quest for Justice.
New York City, 2006
Footnote to above:
I would be derelict if I did not mention that the attached letter from Dr. Audrey Jacobson, Director of the NYC Dept of Education Medical Office, recanting her claim of Aug. 16, 2005, that I was not "fit for duty", would likely never have seen the light of day, had not the renowned Forensic Psychiatrist, Alberto M. Goldwaser, M.D., D.F.A.P.A. become interested in my case.
As Chairman of the Ethics Committee for Psychiatry, Dr. Goldwaser recognized early on that massive wrongdoing had occurred in the NYC Dept of Education Medical Office. It is to such a doctor, who takes his sworn allegiance to the Hippocratic Oath as sacred duty, that much credit must be given in my being vindicated of the arbitrary and capricious claims made by Medical Office Director, Dr. Audrey Jacobson in her letter of Aug. 16, 2005. See
http://www.forensic-psych-assoc.com , agoldwaser@med.nyu.edu
To Betsy Combier, Founder, CEO of The E-Accountability Foundation- Advocacy for Public
School Education and Civil Rights,
http://www.ParentAdvocates.org, deep thanks are also in order.
I cannot adequately express in words the deep debt of gratitude owed these two individuals as
well as to many other people of decency and integrity, who in a critical hour gladly offered and
were prepared to stand and be counted. 'Courage' is the badge of all their tribe.
God bless them all.
David Pakter
Subject: I taught for 29 years and experienced abuseIP: Logged
Message:
School Horrors Dear Editor:
I completely agree with writer Richard Skibins of East Meadow, in his exposing the horrors going on in the schools.
Teachers are victims of sadistic principals who intimidate, harass and victimize teachers, as part of their days.
I taught for 29 years and experienced abuse and harassment because I refused to falsify grades so that the school would look good, when, in fact, it was doing poorly.
I went to federal court when I, an 18-year veteran high school teacher, tenured, was fired. Just like that. It took me 15 years to clear my name. The UFT helped to destroy me.
Francine Newman,
Forest Hills
Additional letters from David Pakter requesting an investigation of Region 9 NYC DOE personnel:
NYSUT
Legal Department - New York City
52 Broadway
New York, NY 10004
Mr. Bryan D. Glass Esq.
Associate Counsel
New York State United Teachers
Dear Mr. Glass:
I appreciated having the opportunity to meet with you last week concerning the allegations that have been made against me by the New York Dept of Education. The following Press Release will hopefully serve to remind you of some of the issues that I discussed during our intake conference. Although you felt too much information was being conveyed I can assure you that it was only the tip of the iceberg.
For example, after illegally removing me from my Medical Program and school, the day after the Principal unexpectedly announced she was retiring, the District conveyed a message to me through a high ranking officer in the Union, that I would be returned to the school if I surrendered the video tape in my possession that was the immediate cause of the former Principal's sudden retirement. In fact I was even offered the opportunity to create a "wish list" of up to four things I had been advocating for during the past ten years that would effectively address some of the many bones of contention I had regarding egregious Civil Rights violations at both the High School of Art & Design and the DOE citywide.
Alas, after the outrageous and illegal manner in which I was removed from my position, the above offer to return me to that position in exchange for a video tape clearly reflecting a shocking form of discrimination, is an offer no self-respecting human being would entertain. But this unseemly offer to exert pressure on me is most telling and reflects most clearly what were the real reasons for my illegal removal under guarded escort and my subsequent reassignment to one of the Dept of Education's infamous "Rubber Rooms". The room I am presently in does not even have access to clean drinking water.
I would once again remind you Mr. Glass that I tried for years beyond counting to change the entrenched attitudes of the NY DOE from the inside. It is clear that only forces far stronger than myself, and from outside the system, will now have any chance of rectifying wrongs that should have been corrected long ago in the far distant past.
The UNFINISHED BUSINESS OF BROWN VS THE BOARD OF EDUCATION- 1954
The knee-jerk reaction to my raising issues the NY DOE would rather not address, indicates once again, that the Dept of Education still believes (rather pathetically) that you can kill a message by destroying the messenger. That naïve approach has failed throughout all of recorded history. I trust that NYSUT and all its Officers as well as the entire Legal Division will think long and hard how they wish to handle this matter and what degree of priority they will choose to place on the above matter. I recommend that you start by sharing the contents of this Email with the head of your Legal Department.
Thank you again for meeting with me and focusing on the fact that my case is not so much about me as it is about those members of our society who are most vulnerable and most at risk while at the same time (sadly), least able to defend themselves and the rights accorded them by the United States Constitution.
Sincerely,
David Pakter, M.A., M.F.A.
A "Teacher of the Year" in the Rubber Room? Why was one of New York's most decorated teachers removed from a famous High School with ten minutes notice and ordered to sit in one of the New York Dept. of Education's infamous Rubber Rooms for seven months pending trumped up charges.
Answer: Because after 37 years as an honored educator he could no longer remain silent regarding the rampant racial discrimination in the New York City School District and became a WHISTLEBLOWER wishing to go public with things he had witnessed firsthand during more than three decades in numerous schools in New York.
In 1968 he read Jonathan Kozol's shattering expose DEATH AT AN EARLY AGE--THE DESTRUCTION OF THE HEARTS AND MINDS OF NEGRO CHILDREN IN THE BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM and was inspired to fight the systemic pattern of racism in America's schools ever since.
On October 2, 2003 he sent a letter to Chancellor Joel Klein containing numerous issues requiring the Chancellor's immediate attention and requested a meeting. Having founded the first High School Medical Illustration Program in America, a program highly praised by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Clara Hemphill he was certain the Chancellor would agree to meet with him. Especially since he had been
honored as a TEACHER OF THE YEAR personally by former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani in a City Hall Ceremony and is also listed in Who's Who Among America's Best Teachers.
Instead he received a blistering, attacking letter from the former General Counsel of the Dept. of Education, Chad A. Vignola who ironically was forced to resign in disgrace only months later for his participation in the Deputy Chancellor Diana Lam cover up scandal.
This highly decorated educator is just one of the many courageous teachers who have come before him, who simply for raising issues and asking the "wrong" questions has been crucified for attempting to defend the Constitutional and Civil Rights of millions of Hispanic, Black and other minority students. And all in a system that carefully conceals important facts from the public behind a façade of saccharine smiles and daily acts of hypocrisy committed by self-absorbed Dept of Education bureaucrats who actively try to destroy the career of any teacher who has the temerity to suggest any creative innovation that might threaten the status quo.
After enduring a year of ruthless, organized, non stop retaliation for becoming a WHISTLEBLOWER the above teacher has recently been officially informed that the City will seek his termination. Any interested party should read the October 2, 2003 letter that was sent to Chancellor Klein as well as the attempted cover up letter sent in response by disgraced former Dept of Education General Counsel Chad Vignola.
NYSUT
Legal Department - New York City
52 Broadway
New York, NY 10004
Mr. Christopher Callagy, Esq.
Associate Senior Counsel
New York State Teachers
Re: In the Matter of New York City Dept. of Education Vs. David Pakter, M.A., M.F.A.
Dear Mr. Callagy:
I want to thank you for meeting with me last week to discuss the above captioned matter.
Your professional manner and obvious mastery of Education Law will serve us well in what will doubtless be a very complicated and lengthy trial. It may in fact be seen as a landmark case. Again I must reiterate that the information I discussed with you during our meeting, which lasted almost three hours, represents only the tip of a rather ugly iceberg.
Secondly, I have received in my mail today your expertly prepared:
DEMAND FOR VERIFIED BILL OF PARTICULARS AND DOCUMENT PRODUCTION that your office has served on the CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT OF NEW YORK in a timely fashion.
While it is obviously quite thorough, I wish to bring to your attention that no mention is made of the large number of Emails that I sent to the OFFICE OF THE NEW YORK CITY SPECIAL COMMISSIONER OF INVESTIGATION, in particular Emails sent to the attention of Ms Eileen C. Daly, Special Counsel, (who directed the Diana Lam investigation). Also a large number of faxes were sent to the same office to Ms. Daly's attention as well as faxes to Mr. Laurence B. Henry, Senior Investigator, who communicated to me during a cell phone conversation shortly after I was removed
from Art and Design High School that he had been directed by his superiors "to close the book on my case". For the record, I had met several times at the school with Mr. Henry as well as with Mr. David Moreno, a CONFIDENTIAL INVESTIGATOR who often worked with Mr. Henry.
It is most critical to learn what Mr. Richard Condon, SPECIAL COMMISSIONER of INVESTIGATION for the NEW York City School District, knew regarding DAVID PAKTER and when did he know. Naturally it will be important to have a complete record of any and all communications between Mr. Condon and his Office with other NYC Agencies. This includes communication via any means.
In addition, all demands made on the OFFICE OF THE SPECIAL COMMISSIONER OF INVESTIGATION should be made as well on the OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL for the NEW YORK CITY CONSTRUCTION AUTHORITY, including any and all documents, records, calls and notes resulting from a meeting I had at my school with Carolann J. Natale, SCA Investigator, and Clement J. Krug, former
member of the NYPD, and along with Ms Natale an official Investigator for the OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL for the NEW YORK CITY CONSTRUCTION AUTHORITY. This entire meeting was tape recorded at the mutual consent of all parties present. It should be noted that all meetings held at the OFFICE OF THE
SPECIAL COMMISSIONER OF INVESTIGATION were similarly recorded, in particular the meetings with Ms Daly, Special Counsel, meetings which covered a wide range of issues.
Also relevant are several meetings and phone calls involving the SEVENTEENTH POLICE PRECINCT in Manhattan which at first refused to allow me to file a COMPLAINT that thousands of dollars of items, records and materials were being removed from my Medical Room at the school. In fact it was not until one of my Attorneys made a call to Manhattan Deputy Chief Conroy that Detective Frank Bogucki and his partner at the SEVENTEENTH PRECINCT were instructed to accompany me in a Police vehicle to the school. Our purpose was to try to gain access to my Medical Room in order that a Missing Property Report could be made. It should be mentioned that the new Principal, John Lachky, who had replaced Madeleine Appell, (who retired the day after she learned of a video tape I had in my possession), refused to allow Detective Bogucki and his partner to gain access to my Medical Room. Amazingly, Mr. Lachky shouted at Detective Bogucki on the phone and strangely had the cylinder lock on my Medical Room door changed the following morning. Eventually Principal John Lachky only allowed me one single day, a Saturday, to pack and remove twenty five years of books, personal records and personally owned Medical items from the school premises.
Obviously, between the ransacking of my room and locked file cabinets before I was allowed to return and the very constricted one day time frame I was permitted to claim my property, caused the loss of years of carefully acquired educational possessions. A large quantity of items were lost, destroyed or stolen.
Of equal interest is the fact that I twice called and visited the DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE FOR NEW YORK COUNTY for the purpose of filing several complaints. Duncan P. Levin, Assistant District Attorney at One Hogan Place not only refused my request to file complaints but it required a call to his office from a prominent attorney simply to force the DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE to memorialize their
refusal on the DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S Letterhead. A full transcript of all events which transpired both at the 17 th Precinct as well as at the District Attorney's Office will be produced at the proper time.
Finally, it appears likely that the letter I sent Chancellor Joel Klein, former Deputy Diana Lam, et al, on or about Oct. 2, 2003, set off a cascading series of events which culminated, almost a year later, in my being reassigned from my Medical Illustration Program. It will therefore be necessary to demand any and all such papers, documents, phone records, faxes, Emails etc starting with Chancellor Klein and going through the entire DOE chain of Command in descending order of responsibility. This will clearly include anything and everything that pertains to the name DAVID PAKTER. Information must be obtained not only from Chancellor Joel Klein, but also from former Deputy Chancellor Diana Lam, former General Counsel Chad A. Vignola, Superintendent Peter Heaney of Region Nine, Deputy Superintendent Mariano Guzman, the former LIS- Local Instructional Superintendent Michael LaForgia and any other person in the DOE who had any knowledge of, or who participated in any way in an attempt to remove DAVID PAKTER from the DOE.
Additional names to be investigated include, but are not limited to, Alexis Penzell, Local Instructional Superintendent for Region Nine, Judith A Rivera, Personnel Manager, former Principal Madeleine Appell, present Principal John Lachky, Assistant Principal Harold Mason, retired Assistant Principal Francesca Burack, Assistant Principal Maryanne Deninno, Lawrence E. Becker, Deputy Executive Director, Division of Human Resources, DOE, et al.
Last but not least it will be necessary to call Michael Best, General Counsel to the Chancellor, New York City Department of Education, Office of Legal Services and Ms. Susan Holtzman, an attorney who works under General Counsel Michael Best to find out what they know about this case.
I both called Ms. Holtzman, Esq. at the Office of Legal Services and met with her at the Tweed Building in late 2003 to present documents and evidence supporting my allegations that the Civil Rights of students at Art and Design High School were being violated in many different ways. I further demonstrated to another official while at the Tweed Building that Art and Design High School had for years inserted information in the OFFICIAL NYC HIGH SCHOOL DIRECTORY regarding the school which they knew to be false and misleading. The purpose was to lure students into applying for the school expecting courses which in fact did not exist.
In conclusion let me state Mr. Callagy that I am willing to consider a SETTLEMENT that will accomplish:
1) A Remedy that addresses the issues I discussed in my Oct. 2, 2003 letter to Chancellor Joel Klein
2) Additional Civil Rights Issues to be discussed.
3) My FULL REINSTATEMENT and a letter of Apology for all wrongs done to me signed by Chancellor Klein
4) A Teacher (unnamed) who was in the Fellow's Program and terminated for being a Whistleblower will be reinstated and made whole including ALL lost salary he suffered from the date of Termination as well as the disruption and interference with respect to his ability to practice Law. Despite the fact that he has graduated from Law School people in the NY government have blocked said Teacher from being
admitted to the New York Bar as retaliation for his Whistleblower activities. The City of New York will therefore take such steps as may be necessary to ensure that the Teacher mentioned receive such papers and Legal Documents as shall be necessary to allow him to practice Law in New York State-
5) A Principal (unnamed) who was reassigned, though never charged, due to her inquiring about missing funds owed her school, will be reinstated and made whole including ALL lost salary suffered during her reassignment and demotion in DOE rank.
6) All people who were responsible and/or participated in the events surrounding David Pakter, (including such PAIN and SUFFERING as shall be determined by an impartial Judge and Jury), will be held accountable and appropriately punished according to City, State and Federal Laws as dictated by the Courts in light of both historical cases and recent Retaliation cases coming out of the United States Supreme Court.
I will end this communication Mr. Callagy by offering my personal opinion that the City of New York will be most foolish to reject the above offer of Settlement. Considering what was perpetrated against both myself but far more important, my students, I would have to say the above Settlement is more than generous on my part. The great Israeli Statesman, Abba Eban often pointed out that during the period of their many attempts to destroy the small Nation of Israel, "the Arabs never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity". I trust that the New York Dept. of Education as well as The State Education Dept. will not make the same mistake.
Should this case not settle, (and I am willing to do so only for the sake of the Teacher and Principal alluded to above), I am prepared to take this case as far in the Legal System, (even up to the Supreme Court), as may be required to obtain Justice for myself and to ensure the Constitutional Right To Equal Opportunity and Protection for every single child who attends a school in the State of New York. I believe you share my passion for the issues discussed.
Sincerely,
David Pakter, M.A., M.F.A.
BACKGROUND