Posted on December 21, 2018December 16, 2018 letter.docxDecember 16, 2018 Dear Governor Desantis and Fl. Education Commissioner Corcoran, Hello, my name is Bill Detzner. As this is a public school problem, I am sending this letter to BOTH of you. I am a retired school teacher from Miami Dade County Public Schools (MDCPS). Over a period of three and a half years, I have sent 51 (fifty-one) certified letters to MDCPS officials, (and kept the receipts to prove those letters were received.) I sent 7 of those letters to MDCPS Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, 9 to United Teachers of Dade (UTD) President Karla Hernandez Mats, 31 letters to MDCPS school board members, and 3 letters to Florida Education Commissioner Pam Stewart. I have received literally not a single word of response to those 51 certified letters. NOT. A. SINGLE. Word. (Superintendent Carvalho gives the appearance of being a “Kiss up, Kick down” bureaucrat.) That is why I am turning to you for help. When I finish this letter, I will also write to Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and numerous Florida newspapers. All of what I touch on in this letter is covered in great detail in my blog (mdcpsallegations.com). I will include this letter in my blog, so my readers will be aware of this, my second communication to you about the problems plaguing Neva King Cooper School (NKC) for the last six and a half years. NKC is a public school exclusively for Profoundly Mentally Handicapped (PMH) children, with IQ’s of 25 and below. During the 2011-2012 school year, NKC was facing the prospect of having a new, totally inappropriate curriculum unilaterally forced upon it, coupled with the fact that although the money allocated to MDCPS INCREASED every year, the money allocated to individual schools within the district DECREASED every year. As a result, NKC decided to exercise its (supposedly) legally protected right to convert from a public school to a charter school. Superintendent Alberto Carvalho blatantly and flagrantly broke many state laws in his successful attempt to smash NKC’s conversion attempt. You can read about this in DOAH13-1492. Although MDCPS was found guilty of numerous egregious violations of Florida law in illegally smashing NKC’s conversion attempt, the law provides for NO PENALTIES WHATSOEVER for superintendents who illegally smash public schools attempts to convert to charter schools. The law also provides for no penalties for superintendents who illegally retaliate (for six and a half years and counting) against school staffs who attempt to convert to charter schools. For this reason, the long suffering staff of NKC hopes the Florida legislature will revisit this legislation and either insert draconian penalties against superintendents who illegally smash conversion attempts, or totally repeal the “law” suckering public school teachers into putting their careers on the line in the naïve belief that they will be protected from retaliation if they attempt to convert their public school to a charter school. I am also hoping that after reading my blog, Governor Desantis will make the decision to withhold all or part of MDCPS funding until the district is in compliance with Florida law. Had the conversion process at NKC been allowed to occur, the school would have realized a HUGE budget surplus at the end of every school year (due to not having to subsidize the gargantuan (and still growing) MDCPS downtown bureaucracy.) This would have meant that although MDCPS educators had not been given a raise in many years, NKC could have afforded itself the luxury of granting its staff generous raises every year, while still maintaining a comfortable surplus in our school budget. Additionally, we would have had the freedom to present our students with a FAR better curriculum than the one the district ultimately imposed on us. It is the belief of many NKC staff that had MDCPS Superintendent Carvalho not brutally and harshly (not to mention illegally) smashed NKC’s conversion process and made an example out of NKC, within 5 years, an overwhelming number of MDCPS schools would have converted to charter schools, greatly reducing the power of both Superintendent Carvalho and UTD boss Ms. Hernandez Mats. I want to strongly emphasize that although many public schools throughout Florida have successfully transitioned to charter schools, only one conversion attempt (NKC) has ever been attempted in MDCPS. That attempt was so brutally and harshly crushed that unless Florida laws get some real teeth against retaliation, or Mr. Carvalho is replaced as the MDCPS superintendent, there will NEVER AGAIN be so much as even an attempt to convert a MDCPS public school to a charter school. I want to strongly emphasize that the NKC principal who attempted to convert to a charter school, Dr. Alberto Fernandez, had been rated by MDCPS as THE most effective administrator in the district. Additionally, year after year, Dr. Fernandez received nearly the highest approval ratings by both MDCPS officials and the annual staff and parent satisfaction surveys. The assistant principal at that time, Mr. Henny Cristobol was also rated as highly qualified by both staff and parents. Despite these impressive ratings, Dr. Fernandez and Mr. Cristobol were NOT returned to their posts at NKC after DOAH 13-1492 found they had been illegally removed from those posts. They were denied their wish to return to NKC despite the recommendation of the judge in DOAH 13-1492, and despite numerous letters. petitions, and requests made to Superintendent Carvalho by both staff and parents that this be done. I also want to note that BOTH of these administrators were removed DURING the school year, NOT at the end of the school year. I make this point because MDCPS may attempt to make the argument that removing the HORRIBLE present NKC administrators during the current school year is not a good idea. For the last six and a half years, Superintendent Carvalho has appointed principal Dr. Tracy Roos and assistant principal Mrs. Alicia Fernandez (Screamer) as the two NKC administrators. My blog (mdcpsallegations.com) is filled with example after example of BOTH of those administrators knowingly and willfully making false and potentially career ending charges against NKC staff and deliberately creating a hostile work environment at NKC for SIX AND A HALF YEARS. United Teachers of Dade (UTD) President Ms. Hernandez Mats is fully aware of this situation, as I have sent her 9 unanswered certified letters. Here are just a few of the egregious illegal retaliatory actions done by BOTH present NKC administrators. Assistant principal Mrs. Fernandez (Screamer) allegedly knowingly and willfully filed potentially career ending charges against former NKC teacher Mr. Rick Massa, accusing Mr. Massa of cheating on the Florida Alternate Assessment (FAA), the high stakes annual achievement test that is given to Profoundly Mentally Handicapped (PMH) children. As my blog explains, another teacher was present in Mrs. Fernandez (Screamer) office when Mr. Massa reported to Mrs. Fernandez (Screamer) to show Mrs. Fernandez (Screamer) that he (MR. Massa) received the testing materials with the correct answers already marked, presumably by the teacher who tested his class prior to turning the testing materials over to Mr. Massa. The teacher who witnessed the conversation where Mr. Massa showed Mrs. Fernandez (Screamer) the testing materials he received with the correct answers already written in is a new teacher who will never have tenure and can be dismissed at the end of the school year throughout his/her career. This teacher, having a deeply justified fear that the MDCPS investigative bodies exist NOT to root out corruption, but to hide it and then to retaliate against the whistleblower at the conclusion of the sham “investigation” was too fearful of losing his/her job to testify as to what he/she overheard in Mrs. Fernandez (Screamer) office. Mrs. Fernandez (Screamer) then allegedly perjured herself in her deposition in the lawsuit that Mr. Massa filed against MDCPS. If the Governor is willing to call in an investigative body that is independent of MDCPS (such as the National Labor Relations Board, or the Florida Bureau of Investigation, or the Federal Bureau of Investigation), and if that investigative body will guarantee this person protection against retaliation by MDCPS, this person will testify as to what he/she heard that day in Mrs. Fernandez (Screamer) office. As you may have guessed, Mrs. Fernandez has a nickname. Her nickname is Screamer. Whenever Mrs. Fernandez becomes upset at an NKC staff member (and she has an extremely low frustration threshold), she throws a screaming temper tantrum (UTD boss Ms. Hernandez Mats is well aware of this, but the fact that dues paying members of UTD who have the misfortune of working at NKC have been subjected to Mrs. Fernandez (Screamer) temper tantrums for six and a half years does not appear to concern Ms. Hernandez Mats very much.) My blog describes an incident where Mrs. Fernandez (Screamer) screamed at me nonstop for 20 (twenty) minutes! As I said in my blog, I got off with a measly 20-minute screaming temper tantrum because I am Caucasian. Although all of the NKC staff suffer a deliberately cultivated hostile work environment, African Americans suffer more frequent and longer hateful screaming tirades at the hands of Mrs. Fernandez (Screamer). As Superintendent Carvalho, the 9 school board members, and Ms. Hernandez Mats are well aware, the African American NKC staff refer to the school as a “Plantation” and believe (with ample evidence to back up this belief) BOTH Dr, Roos and Mrs. Fernandez (Screamer) are openly hostile and racist to African American staff. As Superintendent Carvalho, the 9 school board members and Ms. Hernandez Mats also know, Dr. Roos illegally forbade almost al NKC African American staff from participating in the MANDATORY annual staff satisfaction survey. This frees both Dr. Roos and Mrs. Fernandez (Screamer) to become even more hostile and hateful to African American staff in the future, as these staff are illegally forbidden to provide feedback in the MANDATORY annual staff satisfaction survey. Another example of Dr. Roos open hostility toward African American staff is her DISGRACEFUL treatment of both Ms. Green and Mr. Jackson, which I described in great detail in my blog. In a nutshell, Shortly after Ms. Green’s daughter was brutally murdered, (and her home seriously damaged by Hurricane Irma), Dr. Roos allegedly gave Mr. Jackson (an African American custodian at NKC and one of Ms. Green’s closest friends) an illegal order to deliver Dr. Roos threat to Ms. Green to have Ms. Green involuntarily transferred to another school. When it looked like Dr. Roos might suffer adverse consequences for this seemingly overtly racist action, Dr. Roos allegedly summoned Mr. Jackson to a closed-door meeting in Dr. Roos office and allegedly threatened to terminate Mr. Jackson’s employment unless he recanted his statement saying Dr. Roos had ordered him to deliver Dr. Roos threat to Ms. Green. If an independent investigative body is called in, they might want to hear what both Ms. Green and Mr. Jackson have to say about this. Although MDCPS was well aware of Dr. Roos flagrant and egregious violations of Ms. Green and Mr. Jackson’s rights, astonishingly, a few weeks later, MDCPS saw fit to nominate Dr. Roos for the prestigious Principal of the Year Award! As I stated in my latest blog entry, Ms. Green and possibly Mr. Jackson give the appearance of being in grave danger of facing job termination, should Dr. Roos receive one of her famous “anonymous” phone calls accusing these African American employees of physically and/or sexually abusing one or more NKC students. Dr. Roos also stands accused of physically assaulting an African American Profoundly Mentally Retarded NKC child. I talk about this incident at great length in my blog. Most PMH students have neither the ability to speak or communicate in any way or to defend themselves from physical assault, making them extremely vulnerable to physical abuse at the hands of unscrupulous adults. This African American student was returned to NKC at the end of the school day, as there was no one from his home to meet him at his bus stop. By the time the bus returned this child to NKC, his teacher had already gone home for the day, although Dr. Roos was still on campus. Although Dr. Roos is contractually OBLIGATED to accept custody of this child, she allegedly attempted to refuse to accept custody of the child. Both the bus driver and the bus aide allegedly escorted this student off the bus and left him next to Dr. Roos and began to drive away. At that point, both the bus driver and the bus aide allegedly observed Dr. Roos physically abuse this child. At that point, the two bus people stopped the bus, got off the bus, and confronted Dr. Roos and told her to stop physically abusing the child. The next day, these two bus personnel handed the assistant principal a referral, a legal document detailing the allegations against Dr. Roos. A third person who allegedly observed Dr. Roos physically abuse this African American child is an African American NKC staff member who is a 30-year MDCPS employee and a 30-year UTD member. This person is allegedly too terrified of retaliation from MDCPS goons/thugs to report what he/she observed. An independent investigative body may wish to ask this person what he/she observed that day. The mother of this child was outraged when she discovered the abuse her child had allegedly suffered. She threatened to both go to the press and to hire an attorney. Mysteriously, she very quickly became quiet. Dr. Roos allegedly phoned this woman and threatened to have the child removed from his home and involuntarily placed in a foster home unless the mother ceased defending her son against possible future acts of physical violence at the hands of this seemingly out of control principal. If an independent investigative body is called in, they might wish to ask this mother if she received threatening phone calls from Dr. Roos and/or the thugs/goons of MDCPS. Although MDCPS MANDATES that a principal accused of physically abusing a child be removed from campus, until an investigation is completed, this was not done, and Dr. Roos remains on campus, putting PMH students who can neither speak or physically defend themselves at risk for possible physical attacks at the hands of Dr. Roos. As I explained at great length in my blog, Dr. Roos gives the appearance of being subject to wild mood swings, and an inability to control her destructive urges. (Superintendent Carvalho was aware of this fact when he declined to remove Dr. Roos from campus AFTER Dr. Roos was accused of physically abusing a Profoundly Mentally Retarded child!) In my blog, I described how Dr. Roos once told me she suffers from an Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. I also said that on at least two occasions, Dr. Roos suffered prolonged, uncontrollable crying jags in full view of the NKC staff. Governor Desantis, do Profoundly Mentally Retarded children, who are largely incapable of either speech or defending themselves have the right to be protected from physical assault by the principal of the school? If one of the primary goals of a school for PMH children is to protect them from physical abuse, does it make sense to leave a principal who has been accused of physically abusing a child in charge of the school? Has this principal set a good example of how Profoundly Mentally Handicapped children should be treated by staff? Are taxpaying parents who are paying the salary of the school principal (and the MDCPS officials including the Superintendent who decline to remove a principal who clearly represents a danger to PMH children) obligated to send their child to a school where that child is at risk for being physically abused by the school principal? (As the reader will discover shortly, the LEGAL answer to this last question is YES!!! YES!!! YES!!!) Given the fact that the MDCPS Superintendent, the 9 school board members, and Ms. Hernandez Mats have been fully appraised of this situation and have taken NO ACTION WHATSOEVER to safeguard these children, would the Governor, upon learning of this crisis situation, have both a legal and moral OBLIGATION to step in to insure the safety of these extremely fragile and vulnerable children? (Remember, MDCPS says it has ZERO tolerance for bullying.) Would the governor also have a legal and moral OBLIGATION to impose whatever penalties are commensurate with the violation of the law(s) that occurred including but not limited to termination of employment, permanent revocation of all Florida teaching/educational licenses for people found in violation of the law, including Superintendent Carvalho, the 9 school board members, UTD President Ms. Hernandez Mats, Dr. Roos, and Mrs. Fernandez (Screamer) A few years ago, NKC was involuntarily converted to a new curriculum (the Unique Learning System) that is so far above the intellectual capacities of PMH children that little or no learning will ever take place during the up to 19 years children will attend NKC. (When this new curriculum was first introduced, it was so unpopular with parents that they showed up with picket signs outside the school.) One mother stopped sending her child to school, saying her child was learning nothing and the new curriculum of NKC was a waste of her child’s time. Rather than improve the quality of the curriculum, MDCPS trotted out its favorite war club and threatened to place the child into a foster home unless the mother resumed sending her child to NKC! So, in answer to the earlier asked question about whether a parent is legally obligated to send their child to a school where that child is at risk for being physically assaulted by the school principal, the reader can see that the answer is a RESOUNDING “YES”, lest the child be involuntarily taken out of its home and placed into a foster home (where physical and/or sexual abuse is a possibility). Since parents do not have the ability to protect their severely retarded children from either a physically abusive principal or a HORRENDOUSLY inadequate curriculum, the logical choice is for parents to withdraw their children from the Hell Hole that NKC has become and enroll their children into a charter school for PMH students. The problem is that no charter school exists in MDCPS for PMH children. (Recall that in case DOAH 13-1492, Superintendent Carvalho illegally crushed NKC’s attempt to convert to a charter school. Governor Desantis, will you and the Florida legislature introduce legislation to compel MDCPS to allow a charter school to form for PMH students? Regrettably, physical abuse at the hands of a seemingly emotionally fragile principal is not the only safety danger NKC children face on a daily basis. Here is a thumb nail sketch of an event I described in great detail in my blog. A few years ago, a student in Mr. Massa’s class began to choke on his food. (This child is so prone to choking events that this fact is noted on his Individual Education Plan.) Mr. Massa took immediate and appropriate action and the child expelled the food he was choking on without losing consciousness. Nevertheless, Dr. Roos filed potentially career ending charges against Mr. Massa. The entire staff witnessed Mr. Massa’s appropriate and timely actions and saw that he was threatened with potentially career ending charges, despite doing everything he was supposed to do. As a result of this, NKC staff now have a very deep fear that if a child in their class begins to choke on their food (PMH children are very much at risk for this) even if that teacher takes immediate and appropriate action, the teacher may be at risk for losing his/her job if the teacher has knowingly or unknowingly displeased either Dr. Roos or Mrs. Fernandez (Screamer) As a result, that teacher may hesitate for up to a minute (hoping the choking child coughs up the food he/she was choking on) before summoning help from our on-site school nurses. That one-minute delay may literally mean the difference between life and death for a profoundly mentally handicapped child. As I mentioned in my blog, it took a teacher (who is no longer a teacher at NKC due to Dr. Roos extremely abrasive personality) who was a fully trained Fire Academy paramedic who rode ambulances on weekends nearly three minutes to extract a pancake that one of our students nearly choked to death on. That particular choking incident happened BEFORE Dr. Roos decided to use choking incidents as a weapon to get rid of teachers who had somehow knowingly or unknowingly displeased her. If the teacher in this incident, fearing his/her job was at stake had waited an extra minute before summoning help, the child probably would NOT have been saved, but would have died. (A few years after graduating from NKC, that child suffered a fatal choking incident at his group home.) Again, to fully understand the situation depicted in this thumb nail sketch, you need to read my blog, where I discuss this problem in great detail. Every day that a parent sends their child to school at NKC, they are playing Russian Roulette with their children’s life. Shockingly, Superintendent Carvalho and the 9 school board members have known about this easily preventable artificially induced elevated risk of a horrible death via choking since June 2015, (I have included this letter in my blog) and have done NOTHING to safeguard Profoundly Mentally Handicapped children!!! (NKC staff and parents are wondering if this may be grounds for dismissal for the above-mentioned people from their posts) Timothy McVeigh, the monster who blew up the Federal Building in Oklahoma (because he was angry at the government) killed many kindergarten children who were housed in that building. When asked how he could justify such cold-blooded murder, Mr. McVeigh merely shrugged his shoulders and called the deaths of these innocent children “collateral damage.” In one of my many unanswered letters to Superintendent Carvalho, I accused Superintendent Carvalho of being a kindred spirit to Mr. McVeigh because the Superintendent gives the appearance of being willing to put the lives of Profoundly Mentally Handicapped children at risk (I.e. collateral damage) in his effort to punish IN PERPETUITY the NKC staff who exercised their (supposedly) legally protected right to convert from a public school to a charter school. If one or more profoundly mentally handicapped children are harmed as a result of Superintendent Carvalho’s knowing and deliberate recklessness, will he merely shrug his shoulders and call it “collateral damage?” Only a sadist continues to beat a dog after its spirit has been completely broken. Is it possible that just as Dr. Roos gives the appearance of being unfit to be a school principal, Superintendent Carvalho gives the appearance of being unfit to head the nation’s fourth largest school district? In my blog, I described a second allegation of Dr. Roos physically assaulting a person. This incident involved an NKC staff member. I described this event in great detail in my blog. Dr. Roos allegedly was screaming at the staff member who was meekly staring at the floor. Dr. Roos then allegedly seized the staff person’s jaw and jerked this person’s jaw upwards until the victim was making involuntary eye contact with Dr. Roos. and screamed “Look at me when I am talking (i.e. screaming) to you.” Governor Desantis and Commissioner Corcoran, I am going to tell you something I have never mentioned in my blog (because I feared the goons/thugs of MDCPS would retaliate against the helpless serf this happened to) That person, who transferred to another school as a result of this alleged assault is a social worker. GOERNOR DESANTIS AND COMMISSIONER CORCORAN, IF A SOCIAL WORKER DOES NOT HAVE ENOUGH CONFIDENCE IN THE INTERNAL INVESTIGATIVE BODIES OF MDCPS TO REPORT THIS INCIDENT DUE TO FEAR OF RETALIATION, DOESN’T THAT INDICATE MDCPS IS INCAPABLE OF POLICING ITSELF AND NEEDS TO BE TAKEN OVER BY THE STATE UNTIL INTERNAL CONTROLS ARE ESTABLISHED TO PREVENT MDCPS FROM RETALIATING AGAINST WHISTLEBLOWERS??? An investigative body independent of MDCPS may wish to invite this social worker to tell what happened to her that day in Dr. Roos office. Every year, PMH children with IQ’s of 25 and below are given an achievement test called the Florida Alternate Assessment. (FAA) When Dr. Alberto Fernandez was the NKC principal, our students scored very low on this test, year after year. When Dr. Roos and Mrs. Fernandez (Screamer) became the NKC administrators, Profoundly Mentally Handicapped children have for the last 6 years achieved scores that are FAR above their ability levels. Dr. Roos and Mrs. Fernandez (Screamer) receive financial awards every year for these statistically improbable scores. If an independent investigative body wishes to investigate this matter, I can provide the names of two people who may be able to shed some light on these astonishingly high scores. Governor Desantis, I am going to publish my letter to you on my blog, which is read by both NKC parents and staff, so they will know that you have been fully informed of the deplorable situation that has existed at NKC for SIX AND A HALF YEARS. Governor, prior to writing this letter, I did a little background research on you. You bear a startling resemblance to the President of France (Emmanuel Macron) in terms of your career trajectory. Like yourself, Mr. Macron’s rise to the top has been meteoric. Like yourself, Mr. Macron graduated from some of the most prestigious universities in the nation. At the age of 27, Mr. Macron was the European head of what is arguably the world’s most powerful bank (Goldman Sachs) Like you, in his early forties, Mr. Macron was elected to a very prestigious post. (In his case, the leader of the French Government) Until recently, Mr. Macron was widely viewed as one of the most powerful leaders in Europe. Today Mr. Macron is fighting an uphill battle for his political survival. (Hopefully, this is the point where the similarities between yourself and Mr. Macron will end.) Mr. Macron’s downfall happened because he chose to ignore very clear warnings he was given. Governor Desantis, like Mr. Macron, you are presently sitting on top of an ominously rumbling volcano. The name of YOUR deeply rumbling volcano is MDCPS. The public has a very deep feeling of protection and affection for mentally retarded children. If you choose to do nothing about the current intolerable situation at NKC, one or more Profoundly Mentally Handicapped children are going to go to the hospital, or the morgue. If that happens, I will move Heaven and Earth to get the story into the newspapers, and your political career may suffer irreparable damage. If, on the other hand, you take steps to insure that PMH children are safe and have access to a high quality curriculum, myself, NKC parents and NKC staff will loudly sing your praises. NKC parents and staff are wondering if it would be possible for BOTH Dr. Roos and Mrs. Fernandez (Screamer) to be transferred out of NKC during the Winer Holiday (December 22-Jan. 6). As Superintendent Carvalho seems intent on punishing the NKC staff IN PERPETUITY, the staff are worried that Mr. Carvalho may replace the present administrators with different administrators who are as bad or even worse than the present ones. For this reason, as a show of good faith, the NKC staff is asking you to ask Mr. Carvalho to replace the present NKC administrators with the two administrators who were illegally removed from their posts. This would be Dr. Alberto Fernandez as the principal and Mr. Henny Cristobol as the assistant principal. Also, given the egregious level of offenses over a six and a half year period, all NKC stakeholders are hoping that penalties commensurate with violation (s) of the law will be assigned to everyone from Superintendent Carvalho on down if an independent investigative body determines law breaking has occurred. Finally, NKC stakeholders are hoping that all members of the Florida K-12 Education Committee will be provided with a copy of this letter at the next legislative session in March. As the readers of this letter can hopefully see, Superintendent Carvalho, the 9 MDCPS school board members, and UTD President Karla Hernandez Mats are the best argument for why charter schools need to replace public schools as quickly as possible. Governor Desantis and Commissioner Corcoran, the NKC stakeholders want to wish both of you a joyous holiday. Sincerely, Bill Detzner Bill Detzner 7722 SW 99 St. Miami, FL. 33156 billdetzner@bellsouth.net
Posted on December 10, 20187 December 2018 letter.docx7 December 2018 Hello 9 School Board Members, Ms. Hernandez Mats, and Alberto Carvalho. Hello, my name is Bill Detzner. Nobel Prize winning author Alexander Solzhenitsyn was once asked if he believed Communism could be reformed. He replied that Communism could never be reformed. It could only be replaced. That is the same feeling I have about “The People’s Republic of Miami Dade County Public Schools.” (MDCPS). The level of corruption and incompetence in MDCPS is so high that reform cannot come from inside the school district. Normalcy will return to “The People’s Republic of MDCPS” ONLY when an outside agency steps in and replaces all or most of the 11 people this letter is addressed to. MDCPS gives the appearance of being more of a criminal enterprise than the nation’s fourth largest school district. Superintendent Alberto Carvalho gives the appearance of being the Godfather of this criminal enterprise. Godfather Carvalho seems to be a virtual dictator, and the 9 school board members appear to be nothing more than a rubber stamp to the Godfather’s edicts. Ms. Hernandez Mats, the United Teachers of Dade (UTD) President, gives the appearance of being OWNED by the Godfather, lock, stock, and barrel. Consequently, this letter is written NOT with the hope that any desperately needed changes will be made, or that any of the 11 readers of this letter will have the decency or professionalism to respond. The two reasons I have for writing this letter are to deny the 11 readers the option of having the excuse of pleading ignorance of the latest Neva King Cooper School (NKC) crisis, and to present my case to the powerful people I hope will read this letter. A few, but not all of those people are Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, 60 Minutes T.V. show, the Washington Post, the New York Times, and various Florida newspaper investigative reporters. As I stated in my latest unanswered letter to you, NKC principal Dr. Tracy Roos seems to be lurching from crisis to crisis. Those crises seem to be increasing in both severity and frequency. I have not yet received all of my green return receipt from my last letter to you 11 people before I learned about the latest crisis, which is one of the reasons for this letter. MDCPS requires teachers and paraprofessionals to have up to three yearly Data Chats with school site administrators. These data chats are ONLY for the purpose of discussing an educator’s progress in meeting their yearly educational goals for the students in their classes. As the 11 readers of this letter have known for over 3 years, Dr. Roos frequently uses these conferences to ask staff members highly personal and inappropriate questions. For example, an openly gay male para-professional (who has since transferred to another school district) was asked by Dr. Roos about the details of his sex life during a conference. Although this man was a UTD member, he was so fearful that UTD would not only fail to defend him, but then throw him under the bus when the sham UTD investigation was completed and Dr. Roos and/or Mrs. Fernandez illegally retaliated against him that he failed to report the incident. Ms. Hernandez Mats, the knowledge that UTD members do not trust UTD to enforce the contract does not seem to cause you any concern. (I will discuss other incidents of your failure to enforce the contract later on in this letter.) During the latest round of data chats, DR ROOS ALLEGEDLY TOLD MANY STAFF MEMBERS THAT MS. GREEN, AN AFRICAN AMERICAN PARAPROFESSIONAL, IS THE BIGGEST TROUBLEMAKER AT NKC!!! THE NKC STAFF IS DEEPLY, DEEPLY, DEEPLY WORRIED THAT THESE HATEFUL REMARKS BY DR. ROOS ARE SETTING THE STAGE FOR DR. ROOS TO RECEIVE ONE OF HER FAMOUS ANONYMOUS PHONE CALLS ACCUSING MS. GREEN OF PHYSICALLY AND/OR SEXUALLY ABUSING ONE OR MORE NKC STUDENTS. AS GODFATHER CARVALHO HAS A WELL DESERVED REPUTATION FOR BEING AS BRUTAL AND HARSH AS POSSIBLE IN HIS REPRISALS, THE FEAR IS THAT GODFATHER CARVALHO WIIL UNJUSTLY FIRE MS. GREEN JUST PRIOR TO THE CHRISTMAS BREAK, FOR MAXIMUM SHOCK VALUE AND TO GENERATE THE GREATEST DEGREE OF FEAR AMONG THE NKC SERFS AND TO MAKE AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT HAPPENS TO “UPPITY AFRICAN AMERICANS” SUCH AS MS. GREEN WHO ARE BOLD ENOUGH TO INSIST THAT THEIR CONTRACTUAL RIGHTS BE RESPECTED. The serfs of NKC have this fear for Ms. Green’s future employment prospects because they remember the extremely harsh and brutal way Dr. Alberto Fernandez, Mr. Henny Cristobol, Ms. Luz Morales and Mr. Rick Massa were treated by Godfather Carvalho and the two hatchet women the Godfather placed in charge of NKC. (Dr. Roos and Mrs. Alicia Fernandez (Screamer)) Vladimir Lenin once remarked that the object of Terror is Terror, and Godfather Carvalho, you certainly give the appearance of sharing that viewpoint. To refresh your memories, Ms. Green was the NKC staff member whose daughter was murdered while Ms. Green’s five year old grandson was in the house. I discussed this in great deal in my blog (mdcpsallegations.com) Both NKC administrators (principal Dr. Tracy Roos and assistant principal Alicia Fernandez (Screamer)) expect and get extremely servile and meek interactions from NKC staff/serfs. When Ms. Green returned to NKC after her emergency leave, she (Ms. Green) spoke with Dr. Roos. Ms. Green, deeply, deeply shocked after the murder of her daughter, was polite and courteous, but not meek and servile while speaking to Dr. Roos. Apparently, the murder of Ms. Green’s daughter was NO excuse for Ms. Green to not be extremely meek and subservient when speaking to Dr. Roos (Ms. Hernandez Mats, the fact that KNC staff who are UTD members have been treated VERY, VERY disrespectfully for over 6 years by both NKC administrators does not seem to be much of a concern to you.) Dr. Roos then gave an illegal order to one of Ms. Green’s closest friends, an African American custodian named Mr. Jackson to convey Dr. Roos threat to involuntarily transfer Ms. Green to another school (during a time when Ms. Green was also dealing with damage to her home caused by Hurricane Irma.) When Ms. Green received Dr. Roos threat, Ms. Green had what some people might call “a Rosa Parks moment.” Ms. Green decided she was sick and tired of being disrespected. She then did something that the NKC serfs would call career suicide. Ms. Green reported Dr. Roos egregious blatant contract violations to the internal “People’s Republic of MDCPS” investigative bodies responsible for internally policing the district. As everybody knows, those people are paid to “hear no evil and see no evil”, and then retaliate against the whistleblower after the sham “investigation” is completed. True to form, the People’s Republic responded like the criminal enterprise it is. A meeting was called with officials from “The People’s Republic” and Ms. Green. Dr. Roos then allegedly lied and told MDCPS that Mrs. Green was absent on the appointed day. Ms. Green was then told to report to the assistant principal’s office where she sat for an hour waiting for a meeting that Dr. Roos knew was not going to occur. While Ms. Green suffered that humiliating event, Dr. Roos then allegedly summoned Mr. Jackson (the African American custodian who is one of Ms. Green’s closest friends) to Dr. Roos office for a closed- door meeting. At that meeting, Dr. Roos allegedly threatened this poor man with immediate job termination unless he recanted his allegations that Dr. Roos had ordered him to deliver Dr. Roos threat of an involuntary transfer to another school to Ms. Green. A second meeting was scheduled to address Ms. Green’s concerns. THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF MDCPS ALSO STOOD MS. GREEN UP AND FAILED TO ATTEND THIS MEETING. A THIRD MEETING WAS NEVER SCHEDULED, WHICH MEANS GODFATHER CARVALHO AND THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC HAVE NEVER ADDRESSED MS. GREEN’S CONCERNS TO THIS DAY!!! Regrettably, Godfather Carvalho was not yet done humiliating this grieving African American grandmother. Shortly afterwards, The People’s Republic of MDCPS saw fit to nominate Dr. Roos as a candidate for the prestigious Principal of the Year Award!!! One other detail needs to be noted about Ms. Green. As a paraprofessional, Ms. Green is paid a miserly salary. Out of her meager salary, Ms. Green frequently buys new clothes for NKC children who come from impoverished homes. The serfs of NKC feel outraged by the fact that although the 11 readers of this letter are aware that Dr. Roos has allegedly physically assaulted a staff member (who is still a MDCPS employee who has transferred to another school) AND ALLEGEDLY PHYSICALLY ASSAULTED AN UTTERLY DEFENSELESS SEVERELY MENTALLY RETARDED AFRICAN AMERICAN CHILD, Dr. Roos has suffered no adverse consequences whatsoever as a result of two actions that should have resulted in her termination as an employee of “The People’s Republic of MDCPS.” On the contrary, she has been a nominee for the highest award a principal can achieve. Meanwhile, Godfather Carvalho, the 9 school board members, and Ms. Hernandez Mats give the appearance of giving the green light to Dr. Roos to initiate termination proceedings against a poorly paid employee who buys clothes for NKC children! While on the subject of rank hypocrisy, it is interesting to note that Dr. Roos saw fit to accuse this fine Christian churchgoing woman of being the biggest troublemaker at NKC!!! The serfs of NKC beg to differ on this point. The serfs feel it is Dr. Roos, (closely followed by assistant principal Alicia Fernandez (Screamer)) and not Ms. Green who are the biggest troublemakers at NKC (for six and a half years now) In the utterly lawless entity that is the nation’s fourth largest school district, there is a possibility that an administrator (Dr. Roos) who has allegedly physically assaulted both an NKC serf employee and an utterly defenseless severely mentally retarded child and who has has been nominated as a candidate for the prestigious Principal of the Year Award will be fully protected by the Godfather, while a paraprofessional (Ms. Green) who spends a significant portion of her paycheck buying clothes for impoverished children will have false charges of abusing children filed against her by either Dr. Roos or Mrs. Fernandez (Screamer). I am wondering if the 11 readers of this letter are aware of how outraged the NKC serfs will be if Ms. Green is dismissed from employment or involuntarily transferred to another school far from her home on the basis of false child abuse charges leveled by an administrator who has allegedly TWICE physically assaulted people? The serfs of NKC read my blog, so they know that the 11 readers of this letter are aware of these allegations. As the prime objective of “The People’s Republic of MDCPS” seems to be to make an example of any serf foolish enough to insist that his/her contractual rights are respected, (the object of Terror is Terror) the serfs of NKC feel that if charges of child abuse are leveled against Ms. Green, the punishment of Ms. Green will be swift and brutal, even if there is little or no evidence to back up those charges. Both Dr. Roos and Mrs. Fernandez do not hesitate to lie and fabricate wholly false charges against NKC serfs. A serf who obeys every rule is not safe from termination if they have even inadvertently displeased either NKC administrator. Both NKC administrators seem to get enormous satisfaction out of deliberately cultivating as much stress and emotional turmoil as possible among NKC serfs. This is why a 30- year employee and 30- year UTD member who is a past recipient of the Teacher of the Year award had a nervous breakdown on campus while children were present in school last year. This is the reason why am NKC teacher with 17 years of experience simply retired last June. This is why NKC has some of the lowest staff satisfaction survey results for the last 6 years. Ms. Hernandez Mats, both myself and a very brave serf currently employed at NKC have been telling you about the deliberately cultivated hostile work environment that has existed at NKC FOR OVER SIX YEARS, AND YOU HAVE DONE ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ABOUT IT!!! For this reason, many UTD members hope you will NOT run for reelection as UTD president. Several years ago, during the students’ lunch at NKC, I was approached by a frantic colleague. She told me there was a rat in her classroom trash can. She asked me if I would get rid of the rat for her as she feared for both her safety and her student’s safety. I left my class in the cafeteria with my extremely competent paraprofessional and hurried to my friend’s classroom. I try to be a compassionate person. If it had been possible for me to merely empty that trash can with the rat in it outside, I would have done so. However, I knew from past experience that if I took this action, the rat would be back inside the classroom before I was. Killing the rat was my only option, and I had only a few minutes to do it before my friend and colleague returned to her classroom. The rat was terrified. The ONLY thing it wanted to do was to be left alone. It ran around in frantic circles inside the trashcan and made squeaking noises. The first time I attempted to step on the rat inside the trash can, I missed. The rat’s demeanor underwent a drastic change. The rat realized that no matter what it did, it was about to suffer very unpleasant consequences. You might not believe that a rat is capable of growling, but I am here to tell you that is the case. The rat growled at me and showed all its teeth. While I think that all life is important, I place a very high premium on the safety of severely mentally retarded children (UNLIKE THE 11 READERS OF THIS LETTER), so as compassionately as possible, I killed the rat. My point in telling this story is that the serfs of NKC are also trapped rats at the mercy of a VERY, VERY vicious and vindictive Godfather, Dr. Roos, Mrs. Alicia Fernandez, the 9 school board members, and Ms. Hernandez Mats. The serfs know that no matter how much they plead, grovel, and beg for mercy, they are going to be punished in perpetuity by the 11 readers of this letter. Dr. Roos, Mrs. Fernandez (Screamer) and possibly some or all of the 11 readers of this letter give the appearance of deriving enormous pleasure out of making the NKC serfs’ work experience as stressful and unpleasant as possible. In perpetuity. NKC serfs are viewed by NKC administrators (and possibly the readers of this letter) as adversaries, as prey, and as fish in a barrel. It is difficult to believe that the readers of this letter are unaware of the fact that the serfs of NKC (due to the illegally hostile work environment that exists at NKC) have completely abandoned their plans to convert to a charter school. The fact that the HORRENDOUS persecution of the NKC serfs has continued FOR OVER THREE YEARS AFTER THE READERS KNEW THEY HAD COMPLETELY SMASHED THE NKC CONVERSION ATTEMPT seems to indicate that the Godfather and the 9 school board members seem to find the idea of shooting fish in a barrel to be entertaining. Godfather and school board members, only a sadist continues to beat a dog after its spirit is completely broken. As long as the two present NKC administrators continue to knowingly and willfully file deliberately false career ending charges against NKC serfs, there will be no peace at NKC. Just as that rat in the trash can fought for its life when it had no other alternative, the serfs of NKC have been given no other alternative but to fight to retain employment that allows them to pay their bills. Are you listening, Ms. Hernandez Mats? I AGAIN call on you to ask the National Labor Relations Board to do a system wide audit of the People’s Republic of MDCPS. Godfather, although you do not give the appearance of being either a decent or compassionate man, you do give the appearance of possessing a high degree of intelligence. Having said that, have you put two and two together and figured out that the severe problems that have plagued NKC for over 6 years will continue in perpetuity unless BOTH Dr. Roos and Mrs. Fernandez are replaced as the NKC administrators? Have you figured out that the NKC serfs are too terrorized to ever again consider converting to a charter school? If so, are you wise enough to concede that the best way to permanently solve the quagmire at NKC is to reinstate Dr. Alberto Fernandez and Mr. Cristobol as the NKC administrators? You have known for three and a half years that all the conversion supporters have been terrorized into transferring to other schools or taking early retirement. You have known for three and a half years that the NKC serfs who are still present in that unhappy place that you continue to pummel are people who were neutral about conversion, opposed to conversion, or replacement personnel for the people who were illegally persecuted out of NKC. You 11 readers have known FOR THREE AND A HALF YEARS that the movement to convert NKC has been PERMANANTLY crushed, yet the punishment continues unabated and undiminished. Indeed, the punishment has actually ACCELERATED. I say this because it is not only the NKC staff who are being persecuted in perpetuity. The 11 readers of this letter have seen fit to extend that persecution to both NKC parents and severely mentally retarded children. I say this for two reasons: 1) For three and a half years Godfather Carvalho has knowingly and willfully put the children of NKC at risk for choking to death on their food as a result of the decision to use choking events as a weapon to get rid of teachers the NKC administrators do not like. 2) For about a month, Godfather Carvalho, knowing that 2 MDCPS employees have written up Dr. Roos for allegedly physically abusing an utterly defenseless severely mentally retarded child (and knowing there is a third witness to this event who is a 30 year MDCPS serf, and a 30 year member of UTD who is so intimidated that he/she is afraid to step forward and make a statement about what he/she saw) has chosen to ignore MDCPS rules that mandate that an administrator accused of child abuse be removed from campus until an investigation is completed. Ms. Hernandez Mats, here is yet another UTD employee who does not trust UTD to enforce the contract or protect him/her from illegal reprisals by MDCPS. The readers of this letter are also aware that Dr. Roos allegedly physically assaulted an NKC serf/employee in the past. The readers of this letter also know that Dr. Roos also gives the appearance of being in extremely fragile emotional health as evidenced by the crying jags and irrational behavior and actions described in my blog, Also, Dr. Roos allegedly confessed to me that she (Dr. Roos) suffers from an obsessive -compulsive disorder. In spite of this, in violation of MDCPS own rules and guidelines, Godfather and the 9 school board members have chosen to place all of the severely mentally retarded children of NKC at risk for further allegations of abuse at the hands of Dr. Roos. My hope is that the 11 readers of this letter realize that this extremely rash and reckless decision is a dereliction of your primary duty to protect the children who have been entrusted to your care. Furthermore, as severely mentally retarded children often cannot speak (so they cannot report abuse) and are often incapable of defending themselves from physical aggression, your decision to continue to allow Dr. Roos to remain in charge of NKC, given the fact that she gives the appearance of being both a very vicious and vindictive person, and a person who seems to be incapable of controlling her destructive urges seems to be beyond sacrilegious. Recently, I saw a news report of a school that was under lockdown due to criminal activity that occurred near that school. This seemed like a very prudent protective measure. The school doors were locked to protect innocent children from harm. In contrast, every day at NKC, the school doors are locked to keep a principal INSIDE who gives the appearance of being emotionally unstable, and who has been accused of physically assaulting a severely mentally retarded child. Godfather and 9 school board members, do you also intend to punish, in perpetuity, severely mentally retarded children and their parents? Are you able to see that these people had no part in the attempt to convert NKC to a charter school? Will you continue to punish these people anyway? The staff of NKC are asking that BOTH present NKC administrators be immediately relieved of their duties and be reassigned somewhere where they have no contact with children until AN INVESTIGATIVE BODY INDEPENDENT OF MDCPS (such as the National Labor Relations Board) completes its investigation. If this investigative body determines these two administrators have committed an offense (such as perjury or cheating on the Florida Alternate Assessment,) the proper penalty needs to be imposed. The staff of NKC is asking that Dr. Alberto Fernandez and Mr. Cristobol be restored to their posts as the NKC administrators. If Superintendent Carvalho is unwilling to take these steps, the NKC staff is asking that the other 10 readers of this letter write a letter to Governor Ron DeSantis and ask the governor to remove Mr. Carvalho of his post. (If the 9 school board members are too busy hitting up vendors for reelection contributions to do this, I have already made the new governor aware of my blog) My hope is that at least one of the 11 of you is smart enough to figure out how bad this letter is going to make you look once it hits the press. In the three years that I worked at NKC under Dr. Roos, she (Dr. Roos) ALWAYS retaliated against anyone who caused Dr. Roos to look bad, even if it was totally the fault of Dr. Roos that she looked bad. Dr. Roos gives the appearance of believing that nothing is her fault and that one or more people (other than herself) are to blame for all of Dr. Roos failures. Even though Dr. Roos allegedly committed two EGREGIOUS contract violations, (allegedly attempting to refuse custody of a severely mentally retarded child who was returned to NKC, and allegedly physically assaulting an utterly helpless severely mentally retarded child.) it is quite possible that Dr. Roos has blamed the child for the fact that Dr. Roos looked bad. (I won’t say Dr. Roos is blaming this child for her getting into trouble because Dr. Roos seems to have suffered no adverse consequences WHATSOEVER for her egregious contract violations) If Dr. Roos responded the way she has always done in the past, she retaliated against this child. As this child is severely mentally retarded, the only retaliation he will understand is ONE OR MORE FURTHER acts of physical abuse. If Dr. Roos chooses to punish this child (for Dr. Roos’ contract violations) by inflicting physical pain on him, the child, being severely retarded, will not even understand why he is (again) being physically abused. Just so you understand, even if staff hear screams of pain coming from this child while in Dr. Roos office, it is highly unlikely that any staff member will report this incident. For over six years, NKC serfs have seen that when Dr. Roos is reported for contract violations, not only is she not punished, she is handsomely rewarded, and the whistleblower then punished. (Ms. Hernandez Mats, stand up and take a bow. It is your failure to respond to the numerous certified letters I have sent you that have made this possible.) A few years ago, it was revealed that one possible reason the Miami Herald never carried a negative story about MDCPS was because Mr. Carvalho, a married man, was having an extramarital affair with the Miami Herald education reporter. Ms. Hernandez Mats, I don’t know what your story is, but for whatever reason, you give the appearance of being owned, lock, stock, and barrel by Mr. Carvalho. Although your salary is paid by the members of UTD, you give the appearance of exclusively doing Mr. Carvalho’s bidding. Ms. Hernandez Mats, does Mr. Carvalho own you? The president and vice president of the PTA of MDCPS also deserve to be recognized at this time, as I have also heard not a word in response to the four e-mails I sent them regarding this issue. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that I also got no response to the lengthy email I sent to FEA President Fed Ingram. Readers of this letter, if this utterly defenseless severely retarded child has suffered ADDITIONAL physical abuse at the hand of Dr. Roos AFTER you became aware of the abuse allegation against her, the fault lies entirely with you because with your eyes wide open, YOU made the decision to violate MDCPS policies of removing an administrator accused of child abuse from campus until the conclusion of an investigation. There is also the possibility that Dr. Roos might retaliate more than once against this child. Dr. Roos gives the appearance of having a great deal of contempt for anyone who appears to be weak and/or vulnerable, and who is more vulnerable than a severely mentally retarded child who cannot speak or physically defend himself against a physical assault? So please be aware of the fact that there is a possibility that Dr. Roos may choose to physically attack this child more than once. Please also be aware of the fact that Dr. Roos may take Godfather’s and the nine school board members’ decision to turn a blind eye to an alleged physical assault on a severely mentally retarded child as a green light to physically assault other severely mentally retarded children who have the misfortune of being students at NKC. Godfather, one of “The People’s Republic of MDCPS” favorite slogans is that it has “a zero tolerance for bullying.” I am wondering how you and the school board members square this slogan against the fact that all of you have chosen to turn a blind eye to the allegation that Dr. Roos allegedly abused a member of the most fragile and vulnerable population of all, namely a severely mentally retarded child? Even worse, you appear to be giving Dr. Roos the green light to continue this alleged behavior. In an earlier (unanswered) letter to you, I asked if you thought NKC parents view you as allies or adversaries. The readers of this letter appear to live in an ivory tower, so it might come as a surprise to you to learn that many NKC parents view all of you as adversaries. Ultimately, all bureaucracies come to serve only themselves, and not the constituencies they are assigned to serve. I am also puzzled by “The People’s Republic” slogan of “If you see something, say something.” Godfather, any MDCPS employee stupid enough to take this statement at face value will face severe retaliation from MDCPS, with no adverse consequences for that retaliation. (Isn’t that right, Ms. Hernandez Mats.) The ONLY reason I have not been massively retaliated against for my numerous (unanswered) letters to you is that I am retired. If “The People’s Republic” is serious about “See something, say something,” why have my over 50 letters to you over a three- year period generated not a single syllable of response from you, or any change in the policies of MDCPS? The African American mother of this allegedly abused child was (justifiably so) LIVID when she found out what had allegedly been done to her son. She threatened to get a lawyer and go to the press. Mysteriously, this woman very quickly got very quiet. In the old days, it was very easy to quiet “Uppity African Americans” who insisted that their rights be respected. Hooded white figures planted a burning cross in the dead of night on the lawns of such people. While the laws (thankfully) no longer allow this kind of intimidation, an equally sinister form of intimidation is used to silence people bold enough to attempt to enforce their rights. The burning cross has been replaced by the phone call. When this severely retarded and utterly defenseless child’s mother attempted to protect her child by threatening to go to the press, Dr. Roos allegedly phoned this woman and threatened to have the child removed from his home and put into a foster home unless the woman shut her mouth! Godfather, did one or more of your MDCPS taxpayer supported goons also make one or more threatening phone calls to this woman? Here is the situation. The mother of this child (and the parents of other NKC children) are working hard at their jobs so they can pay taxes that will be used to pay the salary of a PRINCIPAL who stands accused of physically assaulting a child! The obvious choice is for parents to refuse to send their child to a place where the child may be exposed to being physically assaulted by the principal (or choking to death on their food, because the principal is using choking incidents as an excuse to fire NKC serfs). However, a few years ago, when an NKC parent took this step (because she rightly observed that the new NKC curriculum was utterly WORTHLESS for NKC students) Dr. Roos told this desperate parent to either send the child to school, or have the child removed from his home and put into a foster home. The other obvious choice is for parents to take their child out of NKC and enrolled in a charter school for severely mentally retarded children. However, due to the fact that the Godfather illegally smashed NKC’s attempt to convert to a charter school (DOAH 13-1492), no charter schools exist for desperate parents of severely mentally retarded children who see the totally ineffective school NKC has become under Dr. Roos and Alicia Fernandez (Screamer). Godfather, are you and the 9 school members able to see that the ten of you people are the best argument for why many, many more charter schools are DESPERATELY needed, just as soon as possible? Are you able to see why you and the 9 school board members are the reason why the law that allows public school to convert to charter schools needs to have teeth put into the law, so that superintendents who illegally smash these attempts suffer draconian penalties for doing so? Godfather and school board members, the hostile work environment you have willfully and deliberately cultivated at NKC for the last 6 years is not the worst thing you have done to that once high performing school. A FAR worse thing was the school board’s decision to remove both the M.O.V.E. and Small Step Curriculums (SSC) and impose on us (with no input from the NKC staff) the utterly worthless Unique Learning System Curriculum (ULS). Many NKC students are wheelchair bound. If they sit in their wheelchairs all day long, over a period of years their body slowly freezes into a permanent sitting position, causing EXCRUCIATING pain in adulthood. The M.O.V.E. curriculum stressed getting these children out of their wheelchairs and into physical therapy equipment, preventing muscles from atrophying. How has your decision to remove the M.O.V.E. curriculum and subjecting these children to excruciating pain in adulthood (without even consulting us) improved the lives of these children? One of the major aspects of the SSC was an emphasis on toilet training. After graduation from NKC, the number one goal of the NKC staff was to place our children into a sheltered workshop. A sheltered workshop will not accept a child who is not toilet trained. This means that upon graduation, severely mentally retarded children, who have committed no crime, will be given a life sentence, with no hope of parole, of being warehoused 24/7 in a cheerless group home because they are not toilet trained and thus ineligible for placement in a sheltered workshop. How does robbing the brightest of our students of their opportunity to be placed into a sheltered workshop improve their quality of life? How does condemning these children to sitting in their own urine and feces for hours at a time because they were not given a chance to master toilet training improve the quality of their lives? How does this improve their sense of dignity and self-worth? Are the needs of vendors to achieve profits from the utterly worthless ULS curriculum more important than the rights of severely mentally retarded children for a chance to improve their degree of dignity and independence? If this is the case, shouldn’t the motto of MDCPS be changed from “Giving Our Students the World” to “Giving Our Vendors the World?” My hope is that tonight, all 11 readers of this letter will take a good, long, hard look at themselves in the mirror. If you see a terrible coward, a deeply evil person, or possibly both of these things staring back at you, that’s a promising sign. If you do not see at least one of these three things, you are far sicker than you realize. Godfather, years from now, will you be remembered as the worst superintendent MDCPS has ever had? Will all of your accomplishments (such as having no failing schools in the district) be revealed to have been achieved by “cooking the books?” I recall that Dr. Rudy Crew (the superintendent who proceeded you) had barely submitted his resignation when the school board, with no outside search, and no input from the public, announced that you had been chosen as the new superintendent. Many people feel that the pervasive corruption and cronyism that has plagued MDCPS for decades can only be resolved by a reformer hired from outside the district, after a lengthy search, with input from all significant stakeholders. Do you worry that readers of my blog will conclude that many of the district’s policies (such as forbidding most of the African American staff of NKC from participating in the MANDATORY annual staff satisfaction survey) will be perceived as discriminatory in nature? Does it bother you that many African American employees of NKC accuse Dr. Roos and Mrs. Fernandez of operating NKC as a plantation? (with your full knowledge and approval.) Godfather, do you worry that a powerful person will read my blog and decide to intervene on behalf of severely mentally retarded children? Do you worry that such a person may conclude that a superintendent who is not willing to protect severely mentally retarded children is unfit to remain as the superintendent? I suspect that a great deal of the incredible arrogance the 11 readers of the many, many unanswered certified letters I have sent seems to lie in the belief that no powerful person will ever come to the rescue of severely retarded children. If God is willing, this belief will be proven to be false. I will close with a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King. “He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetuate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.” Sincerely, Bill Detzner Bill Detzner/7722 S.W. 99 St./ Miami. Fl. 33156
