The Chief
April 1, 2005
Union: A Diversion
Klein Rips UFT On Teacher Test Scam
By Gina Salamone
The arrest of a Bronx Teacher charged with fraud turned into a battle over
contract rules between United Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten
and Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein last week.
The city schools investigator released a report March 22 detailing how Wayne
A. Brightly, who taught at M.S. 142, coerced his tutor into taking the state
Teacher Certification exam for him, and helped him obtain a fake Department
of Education identification card.
Puts Onus on Contract
When asked by reporters the next day if Mr. Brightly would be fired, the
Chancellor said the DOE has to first go through legal processes under its
agreement with the Teachers' union.
"I've asked Michael Best, the legal counsel, to expedite that process," Mr.
Klein said. "And in any event, this particular Teacher's temporary
license runs out at the end of the summer. I would hope we could terminate
him before then. What I would like to see is changes in the contract
so that somebody like this could be terminated immediately."
The UFT leader responded in a statement hours later that if the facts in
the report are true, the DOE has failed to put into place the proper safeguards
to assure that Teachers are certified.
"Joel Klein is a good lawyer," Ms. Weingarten said. "He knows that
the best defense is a good offense. Instead of saying, 'oops,' they
are lashing out at the contract which they apparently don't understand.
The 2002 contract, which the Mayor negotiated, gives them the right to proceed
with a hearing immediately and complete it within three months. During
that time, they potentially could take Mr. Brightly off the payroll."
She added that DOE officials should read that contract rather than blast it.
The state Public Employment Relations Board recently ordered fact-finding
in the stalled contract talks between the UFT and the city. The last
deal expired nearly two years ago.
According to DOE spokeswoman Margie Feinberg, Mr. Brightly has been reassigned
to a regional office where he's handling administrative duties pending the
outcome of this case.
"We are in the process of terminating him," she said. "However, he
is tenured and has due process as per the contract. He is on the ineligible
list, which means that once the process to terminate is complete, he can
never, ever try to get a job again with the DOE."
In addition to recommending job termination and that Mr. Brightly be placed
on the DOE's Ineligible for Employment list, Special Commissioner of Investigation
for Schools Richard J. Condon urged the Kings County District Attorney's
Office to prosecute him to the fullest extent possible.
Obvious Discrepancies
Mr. Brightly's score for a July 2004 state certification exam came under
question by the state Education Department as the result of an unusual score
gain in comparison with past test scores, and a subsequent review of handwriting
samples.
Investigators discovered that Mr. Brightly paid Rubin Leitner, a once-homeless man, to take the exam for him.
"I'm tired of taking this test and failing," Mr. Brightly told Mr. Leitner,
according to Mr. Condon. "I've got my friends there who will see to
it that you help me."
Mr. Leitner told investigators he interpreted that last statement as a threat.
Fake I.D. Used
The pair met at Brooklyn College in 1989. Mr. Leitner, who was working
there at the time, said he began tutoring Mr. Brightly that year and continued
until 1992, when Mr. Brightly was graduated. Starting in 2001, he tutored
the Teacher for the state certification test up until June 2994, just before
the exam under review.
Mr. Leitner explained that Mr. Brightly paid a man $35 in early July to take
Mr. Leitner's picture and create a fake state I.D. card, using his photo
but with the name "Wayne Brightly."
On July 17, Mr. Brightly drove his tutor to the Brooklyn high school where
the exam was given, and handed him the fake I.D., as well as the Teacher's
social security card, according to the report.
Once inside, Mr. Leitner showed both cards to the test proctor and was thumb-printed
before sitting for the four-hour test, he told probers.
According to Mr. Leitner, not long after the date of the exam, Mr. Brightly
was notified that the state was looking into the test. The Teacher
allegedly drove him to a DOE building in Brooklyn last October, gave him
the fake state identification, and sent him in to get a DOE identification
card made.
"Leitner filled out a form, posed for a picture, and a DOE I.D. card was given to him 'within minutes'," the report stated.
A Raft of Charges
On Feb. 15, Mr. Brightly was arrested by investigators from the Special Commissioner
of Investigation's office and charged with coercion, offering a false instrument
for filing, falsifying business records, criminal facilitation, petit larceny,
and criminal possession of stolen property.
His case is pending in Kings County Criminal Court, with his next court appearance scheduled for April 14.
Mr. Condon stated that DOE identification procedures continue to be inadequate.
He said the fact that an individual can use a fake identification card to
get an official DOE I.D. in minutes is unacceptable.
He recommended that every DOE worker, no matter how long they have been employed,
must be photographed, fingerprinted, and issued an identification card, and
that all such data must be retained in a central system.
Mr. Best, the Chancellor's counsel, said in a statement that the DOE will
not tolerate the corrupt, fraudulent behavior demonstrated by Mr. Brightly.
"While this elaborate scheme is only a single case involving on Teacher,
we are taking measures to prevent the possibility of a similar scheme succeeding
in the futures," he said. "In fact, since 2000, the Department has
been taking photos of all job applicants at the same time they are fingerprinted,
and we maintain a database of all these photos."
© 2005 The Chief-Civil Service Leader