More than 5,000 teachers, aides and other city educators arrested in last three years
New York NY Oct 30 2017 More than 5,000 teachers, aides and other city Department of Education workers have been busted in the last three years on charges ranging from rape and kidnapping to assault and shoplifting.
The number of arrested employees rose from 1,696 in 2014 to 1,766 in 2015, then dipped to 1,730 in 2016, according to DOE data obtained by The Post through a Freedom of Information Law request.
The shocking tally includes not only educators, but vendors and contractors who work in schools.
When employees are arrested outside school, they must immediately notify the DOE’s Office of Personnel Investigation, tell their supervisor in writing, and provide a copy of the criminal complaint.
That didn’t happen, officials said at the time, when Manhattan principal Darlene Miller was busted for drunken driving on Dec. 29, 2011, after smashing into a South Nyack police car.
Miller pleaded not guilty and continued to lead the NYC Museum School in Chelsea. Her trial was delayed for nearly six years, and her salary rose to $169,916. The DOE said it would not impose discipline until her case was resolved.
Last week, Miller, 70, was finally convicted of driving while impaired by alcohol, a violation, Rockland County officials told The Post. She did not return a message. The DOE said it is “reviewing the matter.”
In case employees fail to report their arrests, the state Division of Criminal Justice Services cross-checks fingerprints and alerts school districts when employees are collared.
Last week, Fatai Okunola, 50, a teacher at IS 219 in Morrisania, allegedly slapped the face of a 12-year-old student while school was in session. She told her parents, and police arrested him. He was removed pending resolution of assault charges.
The DOE said it will move to fire Okunola, who makes $98,458, if the charges are substantiated, because he was previously disciplined in 2014 for “corporal punishment” and in 2006 for making inappropriate comments to students.
Many arrests occur for alleged offenses committed while off-duty.
Maurice Smith, a cafeteria worker at PS 169 in Flushing, Queens was charged with assault in 2016 after allegedly hitting and throwing a bottle at a Harlem Applebee’s worker. Smith was suspended without pay for 10 months and returned to the same job in September, the DOE said.
Ebbets Field MS teacher Veronica Slukhinsky was charged with swiping merchandise from a Century 21 store in Brooklyn in 2016. She was terminated this year.
The DOE could not say how many arrested employees were convicted — or how many of them still work in city schools.
“We do not have this data,” a spokesman said.
NY Daily News
