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Wilfredo Laboy And Controlling Obesessions Is it worth an increase of one or two points in test scores?
Wilfredo Laboy may
have a handle on some of the problems in the Lawrence Schools but
his strong-arm tactics leave many questioning if the trade off is
worth it.
Sure, some test scores and statistics have improved since Laboy
came on board, but the environment of fear and intimidation
created by his obsessive compulsion for complete control over
everything in his sight has taken its toll on students and
educators.
Mayor Sullivan's hands off approach (more accurately called the
'don't bother me approach') has left Laboy with no one to answer
to and complete power over our schools and its' finances. Taking
their cues from the Mayor, the School Committee is simply not
interested in performing their duties as spelled out in the City
Charter.
Laboy has removed all police officers from the school system
because he could not control their involvement in the schools.
Now, students can commit any number of crimes in our school
buildings and Laboy is free to hide those crimes from parents and
the public.
Even Police Chief John Romero has expressed his frustration with
Laboy closing down all flow of information to the public. The
police department has no idea what crimes are being committed in
the schools because Laboy refuses to release the information.
So, it is no a
stretch to say that Laboy sees the school department as his own
personal kingdom, ruled with the fist of a dictator and complete
disrespect for the public's right to freedom of information.
Teachers and administrators in central office complain that they
live in fear of Laboy's strong arm tactics, citing the
possibility of losing their jobs or worse, begin accused of
wrongdoing if they do not bow to the code of silence demanded by
the superintendent.
For the last few months one school department employee Mr. Chong,
has repeatedly tried to speak at public participation regarding
an issue he has with the way he was treated by Superintendent
Laboy. Whether his complaints have merit or not,
Mr. Chong has was
denied the opportunity to speak at a several school committee
meetings.
At one meeting in
December, Mr. Chong was physically escorted out of a School
Committee meeting for trying to speak at public participation, a
right guaranteed under the first amendment to the U.S.
Constitution.
Last summer an alleged rape victim filed a lawsuit against Laboy
and the City of Lawrence claiming she was raped in the Frost
School by a security guard and nothing was done about it.
The Lawsuit was secretly settled by the city and public
information, once again, was denied to the public when the Eagle
Tribune requested it and was forced to file a freedom of
information request.
Last year I asked the Lawrence School Department to produce the
resumes of everyone who had applied for the position of
Transportation Director after Patty Dowlings' aide in City hall
was given the position over more qualified applicants. Of course,
the Superintendent denied me the information with legal
doubletalk even though it is public information.
Laboys' unethical hiring practices, refusal to comply with
requests for public information and demand for a code of silence
among all school employees it the public must put pressure on the
Mayor and the School Committee to tighten the reigns on a
superintendent who is out of control.
That won't be easy though, you see Laboy has a leg up on local
officials. His wife is an employee of the State Department of
Education, which pays for more than 90% of the schools' budget
and has already tried to take over the school system in 1997.
This week, the Lawrence City Council is expected to grill Laboy
on the secret settlement of the alleged rape case where the
accused has yet to go to trial and hasn't been convicted of
anything. It will be interesting to hear the "gentle
conversations" that take place if Laboy actually shows up.
What will be more interesting is whether or not Laboy will
actually answer any substantive questions.
Questions like: What has the School Department done to ensure the
safety of students since the alleged rape at the Frost School?
Since Laboy
refuses to allow the police to work in the schools during the day
and does not give out information about the happenings in our
schools I cannot imagine he will be forthcoming.
One thing for sure, Wilfredo Laboy may have revamped the
curriculum in our schools but the overall running and
administering of the Lawrence School Department might as well be
done by a private fortune 500 company like Enron with all the
secrets and refusals to cooperate with other government officials
and the public.