Unions At Odds On Ruling
Principal Cleared In School-Agent Clash

By MEREDITH KOLODNER

A judge has dismissed the criminal charges against a Principal who was arrested after clashing with School Safety Agents inside his school last fall.

GREGORY FLOYD: A dangerous signal.

Council of School Supervisors and Administrators President Ernest Logan praised the decision, but Teamsters Local 237 President Gregory Floyd, who represents SSAs, said that if the agents had been asked to testify and give their side of the story, the outcome might have been different.

'Undermines Authority'

"This undermines the authority of School Safety Agents," Mr. Floyd said. "How are we going to have safety in the schools without respect for those who are in charge [of] maintaining order? Parents, the City of New York and the Chancellor have to make the decision [whether] they want order in the schools or chaos."

Mark Federman was charged with resisting arrest and obstructing governmental administration Oct. 9 after he tried to prevent agents from taking a student they had arrested out the front entrance of the school in handcuffs, where hundreds of students were gathered waiting to enter for morning classes.

The 17-year-old honor student, Isamar Gonzalez, arrived at East Side Community High School in lower Manhattan at 7:45 a.m. before school was officially open at 8:10 a.m. The SSAs asserted at the time that she became belligerent and assaulted them after being told not to enter. Other witnesses contended that the SSAs were part of escalating the incident. Ms. Gonzalez was handcuffed and placed under arrest.

Dispute Over Exit

ERNEST LOGAN: Member vindicated.

Mr. Federman was called and asked the SSAs to take the student out the side entrance. The agents asserted that a supervisor located at the side of the building told them not to use the side door because the child's mother had arrived and was agitated. When the SSAs moved to take the student out the front door, Mr. Federman blocked the entrance with his body and there was jostling, during which an agent fell to the floor. The Principal was then handcuffed and arrested.

Mr. Logan argued that in the future, similar situations could be avoided with more extensive training for SSAs. "We have been working with the Police Department and attempting to improve the relationship," said Mr. Logan. "We believe there are other ways to de-escalate the issues within schools and other ways of restraining children. Hopefully if we work together, we can do better."

'They Work for Principals'

But the Principals' union leader also asserted that school administrators should be the ones in charge of disciplinary matters. "We are not backing down from the belief that these people should be working for the Principal," he said. "On matters of discipline, they should be taking direction from the Principal, and on matters of crime, they should be taking direction from the Police Department."

Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Tanya R. Kennedy ruled over the objections of the city that the case was a "rare circumstance where fundamental justice will only occur upon dismissal."

She noted that the Principal was highly regarded within the school community and that no disciplinary charges were brought against him by the Department of Education as a result of the incident. She also took into consideration the fact that the school had been rated safer than average in a recent community survey and that the school's Quality Review Report last year had cited Mr. Federman as a provider of "visionary leadership."

Judge Kennedy further argued that the Principal did not threaten the safety of the officer or the school community. The ruling stated that "the court is of the opinion that the extent of the harm caused by the offense as well as the seriousness and circumstances of said offense are minor."

Urges DOE Clarity

Reflecting ongoing debates inside the DOE, Judge Kennedy advised the city to clarify the roles of Principals and the Police Department in the arena of school discipline to avoid future problems.

Still, Mr. Floyd said he thought the ruling showed that some segments of the school community were not getting a fair hearing.

"Administrators can sometimes pull strings and hide things," Mr. Floyd said. "We are not at all bitter, but this is just an example of how certain segments of society get rid of things."