I’m thankful for many things. From a great family to great friends. From the opportunity to teach to the opportunity to learn and support. Recently though I had the last of my $600 a month fine taken from my paycheck. I’m thankful I can have more money in the bank for my family and buy a bigger turkey.
If you remember, I was ordered to pay almost $600 a month in order to teach me a lesson about “disrupting the system.” While raising two kids under five, my wife and I had to make asome lot of sacrifices to deal with my $10,000 punishment. Well “thankfully” that fine has been finally paid.
Here is what the arbitrator stated in her 107 page decision:
I appealed to the Supreme Court of Richmond County, but was a day late in filing, so it was dismissed. I still have my federal lawsuit moving along.
Here is what happened at Supreme Court during oral arguments. Even Judge Troia stated the fine was “a lot of money, even on a judge’s salary.”:
NOTE: The transcription isn’t exactly accurate, so if you’re reading this and some words do not make sense, the court reporter probably misheard.
In any case that $10,000 went back into the system and was enough to buy more than a class set of new iPads. Enjoy kids!
I’m also thankful for the courage and support to fight on and the countless educators and parents out there who are taking a stand and joining. Follow us on Facebook.com/uftsolidarity and share our campaign UFT2016.com as we fight so members do not have to “fight to teach.”
