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Friday, May 6, 2016

MORE OBSCENITY FROM THE HARTFORD SCHOOLS, AND THIS TIME IT IS NOT EDUARDO GENAO

Hartford Superintendent of Schools Beth Narvaez
 
These salaries are obscene, especially at a time when upwards of 250 people are facing layoffs due to budget cuts. Does anyone on this list have a conscience when they hear about layoffs for their lower paid colleagues. I know the Superintendent was questioned at her Council Budget hearing if she would consider giving something back. Not surprising there was no answer. But she is still taking her 3% pay raise this year. Leadership by example

Even more obscene is that most of the people on this list have no direct contact with children or their educations.

Please , can someone explain to me how we can justify these salaries for administration  and we can't find money for the front line educators in the class rooms, actually impacting children's lives.

I am really not sure how we justify paying an Executive Director ( whatever that position is) as much or more than we pay our Police Chief, Fire Chief , or for that matter our Mayor.

And the most obscene is paying a Superintendent $257,500 annually. Especially when she has failed so many children, especially a 13 year old child that was victimized by one of her highly paid disciples. And no one can convince me she had no prior knowledge of his behavior.

The list wasn't broken down by those salaries that actually are made by Hartford residents, but I will bet my Powerball tickets that there are very few on the list spending their paychecks in Hartford

FROM HPD: 64 MADISON STREET NARCO RAID


On May 5, 2016 the Hartford Police Department  Vice and Narcotics Unit with the assistance from the Hartford Shooting Task Force and the HPD Emergency Response Team executed two simultaneous search and seizure warrants at 64/66 Madison Street 1st and 2nd floor. The detectives have received several citizen complaints about individuals selling drugs from this residence. Upon executing the search warrants detectives located a male fleeing from the first floor apartment to second floor where he was stopped by ERT members. Detectives were able to recover 60 grams of cocaine, 40 bags of heroin, a small amount of marijuana and U.S. currency. Two people located in the front of the residence were found to be in possession of narcotics and placed under arrest.

Arrested: Julian Solis DOB 3-12-94 LKA 64-66 Madison Avenue
CHARGES: Interfering with a search warrant, possession of narcotics, possession with intent to sell narcotics

Arrested: Jesus Garcia DOB 7-24-82 LKA 50 Hillside Avenue
CHARGES: Criminal Trespass 3rd, Possession Narcotics

Arrested: Victor Rodriquez DOB 1-17-74 LKA 15 Ward Place
CHARGES: Criminal Trespass 3rd, Possession Narcotics

Evidence: 60 grams of cocaine, 40 bags of heroin, a small amount of marijuana
Evidence: $902.00 U.S. currency

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

ANOTHER LAYOFF UPDATE, THE HUMAN SIDE


The list of names of laid off Hartford employees begins. These are civilian positions from the Hartford Police Department.


SAVE THE DATE, SATURDAY MAY, 14TH, 2 WORTHWHILE EVENTS, BRAIN TUMOR AWARENESS WALK AND ANDREW'S PARALYMPIC QUEST FUNDRAISER

 Two worthwhile events are coming up next Saturday, May 14, 2016.

The first one is a walk for Brain Tumor Awareness  in Suffield. The walk is being organized by the wife of a Brain tumor survivor that I met while I was going through rehab at Mt. Sinai after my stroke. Rick was discovered to have a brain tumor over a year ago after a medical episode at his home . Rick underwent surgery and chemotherapy to attempt to remove the growth. His rehab is still omgoing.

If you have the time, meet us at the Suffield green for the second annual Brain Tumor Awareness Walk! Saturday, May 14, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. We'll gather on the Town Green in Suffield, CT. at 10:00, walk to a turn around point . If you are unable to attend, any donation to help the effort can be made by clicking here https://www.booster.com/2016-walk-with-us-for-bta?share=4781462146232965&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=mobile-campaign-page-share&utm_medium=social&ref=facebook_social_mobile-campaign-page-share&utm_content=2016-walk-with-us-for-bta&type=1&side=front
2016 Walk With Us for Brain Tumor Awareness.

 The second event of the day is a fundraiser for my nephew Andrew. Andrew is still in training to compete in the Paralympics in 2018 in Korea.

The event is a spaghetti dinner at the Enfield Elks Lodge at 138 North Maple Street in Enfield , beginning with a social hour at 4:00PM and dinner served at 5:00PM. The flyer is below. Hope to see you at both events if possible. If you are unable to attend Andrew's event, you can donate any amount here.

Thank you for your support for both events

HARTFORD LAYOFF UPDATE

 
A sign of things to come?
 
 
Although no specific information has been released from Mayor Bronin's Office yet, here is some information from the online budget at Hartford.gov.

Corporation Counsel: The primary changes are the annualization of salary funded for partial year as well as a restructure of the administrative and professional support functions, which includes the elimination of 5 positions through layoffs.

Office of Communications and New Media: The net decrease is the result of the elimination of 4 positions through 3 layoffs and the elimination of a vacancy.

Metro Hartford Innovation Services: The FY2017 Recommended Budget for MHIS also includes reductions comprised of 1 layoff and the elimination of 1 vacancy.

Finance: eliminating 9 positions, 2 vacant and 7 layoffs, offset by the transfer of 10 existing positions for Procurement and 3 new Account Payable positions to implement centralization City-wide. The Recommended Budget for FY2017 in Finance represents major efficiencies to be realized.

Human Resources: elimination of 3 positions,
2 vacant, including a vacant Deputy Director, and 1 layoff and reductions in non-personnel accounts offset by a onetime funding in the a

Department of Families, Children, Youth and Recreation: he net decrease is the result of restructuring recreational programs to focus on areas of high demand, adjustments in funding to community agencies and the elimination of 4.9 positions through 3 layoffs, 1 vacancy and 0.9 shift to grants.

Police: elimination of 25 non-uniformed positions, 18 vacant and 7 layoffs.

Public Works: the elimination of 24 positions, comprised of 17 vacant and 7 layoffs, as well as anticipated attrition and reductions in non-personnel accounts.

Development Services:
the elimination of 6.85 positions through 2 layoffs, 4 vacancy eliminations and a 0.85 FTE position shifted to grants.

Health and Human Services: A total of 6 positions are eliminated, 2 vacant which includes a Deputy Director, 4 layoffs, 1 shift to part-time and shifting 2 positions to grant funding.

LEGALITY VS MORALITY

Many times people avoid difficult  decisions saying it is legal, but the greater question is "is it moral?" Such should be the issue facing Hartford's Superintendent of Schools Beth Schiavino-Narvaez.

Schiavino-Narvaez faced off with an angry crowd of parents last night at a budget hearing. Narvaez is spearheading the effort to lay off close to 250 Hartford Schools employees, including teachers and other professionals. All of this at a time when Narvaez is greedily accepting her 3% raise , potentially increasing her salary to $270,000 next year. Narvaez's salary is currently about $257.500.

Even Mayor Luke Bronin gave back $20,000 of his salary after taking office and realizing the City was in dire financial condition. Narvaez continues to take and take, giving nothing back from her salary and  at the same time willing to lay people off.

Legally, she may be entitled by her contract, but where does the morality enter in. Superintendent Narvaez, you have failed every child and parent in the Hartford School System by your handling of the Eduardo Genao matter. Not just in your handling of the situation after his arrest became public knowledge, but even prior to his arrest.

I have a hard time believing that you had no knowledge or had any indication of his pattern of predatory behavior prior to April. You promoted him and if you were doing your job you would have reviewed  his personnel file and seen the previous allegations.

The fact that my FOI requests for those same documents have sat in your office for over a month indicates to me that you do not want this situation exposed further. May it be that you realize you are part of a cover up that allowed one of your immediate subordinates to prey on innocent children?

Even the e-mails I requested to and from Dr. Ngoudou through an FOI request have met a brick wall. Why? What are you hiding?

How you can  morally think about laying off teachers and  the "worker bees" in our schools when you keep an over priced Chief of Staff sitting next to you. The same Chief of Staff who also failed very child and parent in the Hartford Schools when she was "too busy" to look into allegations of Eduardo Genao preying on a child.

Several of those teachers could continue teaching if we got rid of an ineffective Chief Of Staff at $170,000 a year in salary plus close to another $100,000 in benefits

You should both be ashamed of yourselves every time you look in the mirror and realize the reflection looking back at you enabled a predator . And every member of the Board of Education that allows this behavior to go on  hoping it will just go away should also be ashamed of themselves for violating the trust that has been placed in them..

In the meantime, the cover up continues as documents are destroyed and kept secret. A source of mine in the Superintendent's Office has advised me that Eduardo Genao's personnel folder is half as thick as it was before his arrest as documents are purged to avoid any implication or knowledge by the "higher-ups".

Dr. Narvaez and Dr Ngoudou should both be looking for alternative employment where they don't need to worry about the "moral" decisions they need to make to protect children. They clearly are not up to the job requirements

 You can see more on Genao, including allegations by employees that Genao's behavior went on for years, at WVIT NBC Connecticut Troubleshooter Jill Konopka