Jose Colon-Rivas had been on administrative suspension over what sources had said was an issue over missing laptops or notebooks.
The Superintendent of Schools Leslie Torres- Rodriguez continues to remain in her command bunker and refuses to answer any questions over the alleged theft or impropriety claims that resulted in the suspension. Torres-Rodriguez has refused to cooperate with City Auditors looking into the matter.
33 comments:
Why aren't city officials looking onto her and all of her cronies? That Channel 3 news piece was ridiculous. That school has some of the lowest scores in the city- but two admins are her buddies from CREC. Also- there is no summer bridge program for anyone but grade 8 students and no school at all for kids in grades 4-7. She has to have money in the budget to pay her friends! Where is the city on this. WAKE UP HARTFORD---she needs to go!!!!
Kevin, do you think it’s legit or a set up?
Jose is a standup guy who obviously would not play ball with Leslie and all her appointed mindless puppets. She has been looking to get rid of him for a long time. I’m sure another lawsuit will be filed, and it should be.
Total slander and lies against this guy. If they had even the slightest case they would have involved HPD. Hope he sues them all LTR,HR ,the Canon clown and board of education.
Superintendent Torres needs to be FIRED! She is a cruel unquailed person. The Hartford Board of Education is also unqualified. Torres hires many of her friends at high salaries. Torres has never taught in a classroom. HPE you made a serious mistake hiring Torres. Court of Common Council wake up. Something is wrong.
I think it is a setup. Torres should of never been hired. She blames everyone but herself and has many of her friends as back ups. It is criminal!
An audit needs to be done on all of the directors and assistant in the highest ranks of the school system. Jose has been a pillar of the community in Hartford for decades serving the youth and families. Somebody in the inner circle does not want him there.
We need to rise up and demand accountability of those drawing the highest salaries. The starting point needs to be the office of talent management. The snakes in there are the poison that is killing the district.
This fight is for the futures of our children over the empowerment and enrichment of a handful of parasites. Support our teachers in their battles with incompetent administration.
I have been at hphs many years and seen thousands of dollars in computer equipment gone missing or destroyed by students. From the top Ms Torres to the students no accountability tax payers should be angry. It is past time the State should take over and make everyone reorganize and reapply for any positions at Hartford schools
KARMA will find Leslie
Hartford Courant is reporting he had Apple computers purchased by the city and kept them. Is this true? Making 178K a year in a "Cake Job" and you steal stuff. No cure for stupid.
LOL @6:37 no disrespect but the state of Connecticut is part of the problem . They do not sanction or give HPS (or any school district) any sanctions. Not even sure why they have a state department of education there is no oversight just more people scamming a check off taxpayers. In NJ they take money back from the school systems that do not comply with state laws in CT its just another day of corrupt morons who do nothing. Wentzell used to work for Hartford Schools maybe that is why Hartford has never have any repercussions since the state take over almost 20 years ago.
Anyone who knows him, and I mean anyone including all these anti-Torres folks, knows that this is typical Colon-Rivas behavior. His actions are consistent with the long-standing "rules don't apply to me" attitude.
For those who say that he is upstanding or a "pillar of the community," I say you don't have a clue about what was really going on. I'm not saying that this isn't a setup. However, you cannot make someone order his staff to falsify paperwork, order equipment meant for children and keep it, or illegally give it away. Torres did not do that.
In my opinion this should be a police and auditing matter. Let the criminal investigation decide.
8:50PM you can say anything you want if your motivation is to discredit and terminate someone. If the proof is or was there, why would she not involve the City Auditors or HPD for that matter. Where is the proof?
Wake up people! She didn’t involve IA or HPD because they would be impartial in their investigations. She wouldn’t be able to sway the findings to fit the narrative that supported her conclusions. This is typical operations. Ask the teachers. She picks and chooses her targets and I suspect Dr Rivas was the next target on her list. To her point that it’s a crime or against district policy to have others submit your expenses then the Superintendent should resign as she’s guilty as well. She regularly directs people on her staff and in the board office to use their district issued credit cards to pay for and submit HER expenses. FOI the credit cards for her subordinates and the board office. If district issued equipment is not to be taken off district property, just stand outside 960 Main at quitting time to see all the computers that go home every night and off district property. if its against regular rules of the Board to not timely distribute materials purchased, which I agree is highly inefficient, why does she continue to allow boxes of unopened curriculum, books, computers and other equipment to languish in the storage rooms and basements throughout the district, especially after she’s notified? Kevin, take a field trip to the basement of HPHS with Ms Yennie or to the palace at 960 Main and take assessment of the wide spread abuse of resources under Dr Leslie’s watch. She’s a double standard ruler in that she holds others to account but has no accountability herself. Take a look at all the no bid contracts she authorizes, that too is against regular rules of the board and in direct violation of state, city and district regulations. A true leader understands that you lead by example and you don’t ask others to do what you’re not willing to do. Be accountable Dr Leslie and just maybe the staff will follow your lead.
Torres is just another pretty PC face. A crisis controller Who chose her anyhow? Lucas or his sigfig? She looks an awful lot like her too.
12:49, Please don't twist this discussion about Jose Colon-Rivas' alleged illegal activities into a discussion about the superintendent. The facts are that the board has literally hundreds of people (as reported by the Courant) who falsified their insurance to illegally obtain benefits. Now the COO, by his own admission, is caught stealing equipment and giving it away.
Yes, the city needs to greatly improve oversight and in my opinion make some arrests. The facts are that these are bad apples. The superintendent did not make him steal equipment and abuse a subordinate by making her file illegal reports.
While the superintendent has her own shortcomings, the responsibility for their behavior falls on them alone.
I am not convinced that anything was stolen. If there was, why was the evidence not given to the City Auditors or HPD. I would think if they could prove the allegations, the dollar amount alone would justify prosecution, unless it is not true of course
@8:05 it is not "his own admission".. That is a letter the attorney wrote for the super to sign to fire the guy no more no less. If it was true she should have the guy arrested but since it is a smear campaign as he was the last in her group to have wanted Tim Sullivan she is happy as a lark to destroy him in the press and on the news. Funny how KB has to battle to get FOI filled and they turned this letter over in seconds to Fox61. Give me a break. This is a woman with a vendetta and agenda. The news destroys many people today and could care less if it is true, they never even bother to print an honest batch of retractions.
How about Doctor Leslie use the restorative justice practices she do often proclaims will save the school district to solve the computer problem. Ridiculous double standard
The problems in the schools are made worse by the harpies in central office. The cadre of criminal educational negligence that is the cabinet and administration keep the academic performance of the students low by enforcing poorly thought out so-called "research-based" on teaching staff. Failure to comply by the teaching staff is met with draconian punishments by the inquisition known at OTM.
Many see Jose has set up by the vicious vipers of central office. Keep looking for the truth. Remember how long this group covered for Slick Eddy H the pedophile. Somebody will eventually break their silence and the house of cards will collapse around them.
Must be a lovely place to work
@8:05 this is exactly about the Superintendent and her leadership or lack thereof. If you caught someone stealing from your business wouldn’t you immediately refer them for prosecution? If he’s stealing time, which I don’t understand as it’s his accrued time whether sick, vacation or otherwise, and you could prove illegal activities, why not turn over for prosecution? Peel back the cover and open your eyes. If she has solid evidence then she should have no fear of turning over for prosecution. She won’t as she knows this was a vendetta against a foe, her next target, and she fears the subsequent investigation will prove just that point. IA and HPD should take it up anyways and run their investigation. If they find proof, prosecute him to full extent of the law. Furthermore, prosecute the Superintendent as an accessory after the fact. Not trying to recover for the district loss (likely none here) is illegal as well.
Maybe she doesn’t want the attention so I would speculate she is stealing as well.
Leslie has been feeling the heat. For someone who claims to be dedicated to Hartford, but yet applied for the Boston superintendents position some weeks ago shows she is not only a hypocrite, she is terrified at what may be coming her way and she is trying to divert attention elsewhere, as cowards do. Unfortunately, she did not get the job. Boston’s gain in not hiring her is Hartford’s loss in keeping her.
If Leslie is looking for a way out, I hope the BOE reads this. DO NOT PERMIT ANY OF THE CENTRAL OFFICE CABINET EVEN APPLY for the position. They are incompetent, vicious, and just looking to punch their ticket for the next position. If you see any connection to the educational failure of Dr. Carol Birks (now tormenting New Haven and soon to be exited herself unless her political connections to the mayor hold up), you will know that it will be more of the same failure while congratulating themselves on manufactured and manipulated data to make them look better.
If you give more authority to the educators who have been dedicating their professional lives to our children (THE TEACHERS), you will se an immediate gain in student achievement. The administration has delivered the failure we experience everyday. The crime is that their direction not only is failing, but they collect the highest compensation without accountability in the district. A purge of the administration is our only hope to save our school system.
How does JCR being caught once again with his hand in the cookie jar (need we remind everyone of the p-card incident years back and lying about living in Hartford when he was Executive Director at DFCYR at the City?) become a Superintendent bashing? At least she has the nerve to remove incompetent people as opposed to keeping them on payroll and moving from position to position.
Reading all of the post about the hartford schools says one thing; the high paid administration at the board and in the schools are the worst. Some of these principles are bad with dealing with kids and parents. they are arrogant and talk down to us like we don't know anything. When I called the board the only people who treated me like a parent and an adult were on the first floor in the welcome center. I saw how much some of those people are paid and it pissed me off. I pay my taxes and I see what they are getting for sucking. that whole list that you posted should be fired b/c they not doing their job. It is prob not the superintendant just the rest of that list in the main office
I say we call Boston and tell them how great she is and what a loss it would be but we don't want to impede her wishes to improve yet another school system.
8:42 Karma will find you and Leslie
The last human has left the building
8:42PM She didn't make the cut in Boston.(not even in the top 3) If you know more details please contact me so I can continue putting the pieces of the puzzle together. I think it will explain a lot when I do, including the demise of the COO. I am working on obtaining documents from Boston
I wish her "nerve" should have taken the Office of the Child Advocate Report about Pedophile Principal Eduardo Genao was used to protect Hartford's children. When will the Good Doctor challenge a certified sexual predator's pension? Genao should be in prison and/or on the sex offender registry. It's been 2 years since the city gave Genao the golden handshake. So do you really expect Torres-Rodriguez, the board, Mayor Bronin, and city council to do anything noble and honorable like...educate children by using computers while keeping them safe from child molesters?
People reap what they sow.
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