Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer Organizations

ROCHESTER, N.Y. � Parents in the Rochester school district have had their fill of the bureaucratic nonsense and union protections that are giving dangerous teachers continued access to their children.

The final straw goes by the name of Valarie Yarn � a physical education teacher who district officials cannot fire despite credible allegations she stalked her female co-workers and used her position to force female students to undress for her hands-on exams.

�I think the biggest thing that causes this is the teachers know they can�t be fired, or the district won�t take action. Tenure creates a culture that lets the teachers who are doing this feel protected,� Ernest Flagler-Mitchell, leader of the parents� organization Rochester Parents United, told Education Action Group.

     Yarn is the new poster child for illogical teacher tenure protections that have allowed her to continue to draw her salary, and maintain contact with students for much longer than necessary, as she navigated a labyrinth of hearings and appeals that have dragged on for more than three years.

     Along the way, her teachers union has defended her behavior, and an arbitrator has ruled she can�t be fired, the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports.

Instead, the arbitrator decided that the credible allegations against Yarn, many of which she admits to, warrant only a one-year suspension with paid health insurance. The state�s Supreme Court vacated the arbitrator�s decision and the teachers union is appealing the high court�s order.

In the meantime, the district�s legal bills continue to pile up as school officials await a new arbitrator they hope will deliver a more sane resolution.

A disturbing history

Yarn�s troubles started in 2005 as a physical education teacher at Jefferson High School, where she allegedly became smitten with her principal Mary Andrecolich-Diaz and began sending her cards, letters and emails with sexual undertones.

�I care about you deeply � I don�t know if I love you because I haven�t held you in my arms. I can call it love � but I won�t know until we are face to face again. Love you,� one note read, according to the Chronicle.

Andrecolich-Diaz reported the harassment to the district�s human resources department, and Yarn was told to stop all personal communications with her principal and to seek a medical evaluation.

But Yarn wouldn�t take �no� for an answer.

Andrecolich-Diaz eventually secured a protection order against her stalker, but within days Yarn was arrested for violating the order. She was later sentenced to jail time.

The disturbed teacher was placed in a new position at Wilson Magnet Foundation Academy after her jail stint. She then turned her attention to her new supervisors, referring to one assistant principal�s �tender grins� and describing her as �smooth � yup like ice cream without the cone,� the Democrat and Chronicle reports.

Between September 2006 and January 2008, Yarn was reprimanded dozens of times for absenteeism and failing to properly supervise her students. In February 2008, a student accused Yarn of forcing female students to remove their clothes, including their bras, for a scoliosis exam. Court records show that Yarn threatened to flunk students who wouldn�t comply.

A month later, another female student came forward with allegations that Yarn attempted to unbutton her blazer and became so aggressive the girl was forced to flee the classroom. That�s when school officials finally removed Yarn from the classroom and initiated the termination process, although she remains on the payroll.

It wasn�t until February 2009 that district officials filed disciplinary charges, and it took another two years for an arbitrator to reach a decision in the case. Arbitrator Adam Kaufman, a former school attorney, acknowledged that most of the accusations against Yarn were true, but determined a one-year suspension with paid health insurance was a sufficient punishment, the Democrat and Chronicle reports.

Unsatisfied with the ruling, the district took its case to the state Supreme Court, which ordered another arbitrator to review the case.

�The repetition of her conduct is so outside the realm of reason and normal social relations that the penalty imposed by the hearing officer should shock the conscience of any reasonable person,� Justice Thomas VanStrydonck wrote in the ruling. �It shocks the conscience of this Court.�

New York State Union of Teachers spokesman Carl Korn told the newspaper that Yarn should be able to continue teaching.

�We believe that while accountability for one�s actions is important, and that all teachers have a responsibility to the public and the students, there ought to be room for compassion,� he said. �The hearing officer showed compassion and said if this teacher could rehabilitate herself she could be returned to the classroom.�

We believe the union�s defense of Yarn is asinine.

Moving forward

Rochester Parents United wants district officials to put all of their cards on the table.

The group is demanding a third-party audit of all teacher misconduct cases in the district over the past five years, and for the school board to come clean about how those cases were resolved. Parents want a new process for dealing with potentially dangerous teachers or staff, one that eliminates the ineffective chain of command in favor of a more streamlined system where complaints from students, parents or community members go directly to a new school board personnel committee.

Flagler-Mitchell has scheduled appointments with district officials to discuss the group�s demands this week.

�We�re pushing for more accountability with our teachers and staff throughout the district. One (case of student abuse) is too many,� he said. �What we would like to see is them put together a personnel committee and look at the files of these union members.�

Flagler-Mitchell said more drastic reform at the state level, like instituting a temporary renewable tenure instead of the current permanent system, is probably necessary.

�We will go upstate (to Albany) and see what we need to do there � to get some legislation to protect students in our school district� if local education officials don�t respond appropriately, he said.

His argument is fundamental to the safety of students and a productive educational environment. It�s clear that the current system favors employees over the students they�re entrusted to protect, Flagler-Mitchell said, and it�s gone on long enough.

�I think parents shouldn�t have to wait until a court appearance happens or a person goes to jail,� he said. �I think the unions should get out of the way, and allow the bad teachers to stand on their own.�