Principals were in an uproar yesterday over an attempt by Schools Chancellor Joel Klein’s safety chief to pressure them to address safety issues – a job they say is for the NYPD.
The head of the principals union said she was infuriated by a memo that Department of Education safety director Benjamin Tucker sent to all principals. It ordered that their school security team “must be visible and must patrol all floors, stairwells, bathrooms, cafeteria, front of the school building, perimeter of the school building throughout the school day.”
Council of Supervisors and Administrators president Jill Levy said, “This memo was insulting. The principals must do everything. What are we supposed to do? Put a broom between our legs and sweep the halls?”
She also charged on the union hotline that the memo was “illegal and improper” because principals are supposed to take orders from superintendents. Levy said she will file an unfair job action unless Tucker rescinds the directive.
Levy noted that the NYPD was put in charge of school security three years ago, and oversees the 3,850 school-safety agents.
“It’s the NYPD’s role. Supervisors are supposed to focus on instruction, not security,” said union spokesman David Demond.
But Department of Education spokesman Margie Feinberg said when it comes to security, “everybody has to pitch in and do his or her part.”
She said everybody should have “zero tolerance” to school violence.
In the memo, Tucker said, “Principals should remind their staffs that the safety of the students and their colleagues is everyone’s responsibility.”
He said principals should have a safety plan for Halloween – when the number of school incidents and mischief increases.
“Principals must articulate the importance of a safe and secure environment to every constituency. Principals should identify any potential tensions that exist in their schools via conversations with school security agents, student leaders, deans, counselors, parents and others involved in your school,” Tucker said.
Meanwhile, teachers at Lafayette HS in Brooklyn passed a resolution threatening to hold a demonstration to protest safety lapses in the school.
“Last week, a student threw a master lock at a teacher – twice in one period,” said Rick Mangone, a teacher and union representative.
The administration suspended the student, but rules permitted the student back in the building, Mangone said.
Feinberg said Principal Alan Siegel has cracked down on students loitering in the halls after convening an emergency safety committee meeting.
He eliminated student “room passes” and required staff to escort students to rest rooms to stop the disorder, she said.