Ossining plagiarist stands to make $180K
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- May
- 16
I’ve been writing about how Ossining’s deputy superintendent of schools, Raymond Sanchez, plagiarized a letter sent May 5 for National Teacher Appreciation Week. (Click here for past stories and here to compare the letters.)
Yesterday, the district required me to file a Freedom of Information request to get his current and proposed 2008-09 salary. Turns out the district already had this information at the ready, because it’s listed in the 2008-09 proposed budget document available right on the Web site! (To the district’s credit, I have never seen this information posted so plainly in a budget presentation before. Kudos for being so forthcoming with the public.)
According to page 25 of this document, Sanchez stands to take home a whopping $180,840 in salary and benefits during the 2008-09 school year.
The breakdown of his pay includes $177,840 in salary and a $3,000 “performance merit award.”
I do not know if his current salary has a similar “performance merit award” built in, but if so, I wonder if this will be something the district withholds in light of the recent events? The community has been calling for some sort of consequences, but doesn’t feel Sanchez should be fired.
Meanwhile, I just received a letter Ossining resident Matthew Lenaghan sent to the school board and superintendent. He is looking to add additional signatures and can be reached at madL99@hotmail.com.
Here’s the letter:
Dear Ms. Joselow and Dr. Glassman:
As concerned citizens of Ossining and proud champions of the virtues of both our community and its schools, we are gravely concerned with the recent actions of the Deputy Superintendent. Too often, we are subjected to negative press and misinformed put-downs about our schools. This time, your actions, or rather inaction, gives naysayers a reason to criticize our school system. Given the approaching vote on the school budget, it is an inopportune time for such publicity and such an inadequate response on your part. Indeed, we are dismayed by the tepid response that appeared on the internet today. In your letter, you describe this as a “teachable moment,” but you have neither capitalized on this opportunity to instruct our children nor seized this chance to prove your commitment to excellence.
As parents, we appreciate the difficulty of teaching ethics and morals in a rapidly changing world. We strive to instill values and virtues in our children in our homes, in their school work, and in their extracurricular endeavors. We recognize the prohibition of plagiarism as a bedrock principle of education that can be extrapolated to all of life; one should not take another’s work and present it as one’s own. When one takes credit for the work of another, even signing his name as author, as Deputy Superintendent Sanchez has done, it is not a momentary lapse, but rather an indication of a lack of ethics and sound professional judgment. It is galling that the second highest ranking educator in our school district has committed this act. The fact that Mr. Sanchez was able to make such a decision is not an inconsequential error; it brings into question his qualification for the job of educating our children.
Your words attempt to reassure us that you understand that plagiarism is wrong. Your actions do not. We expect your help in the challenging endeavor of teaching our children to be good citizens. Your complicit treatment of this egregious violation indicates a lack of understanding of the gravity of this offense.
At this time, we ask you to reconsider your reaction and send a strong message to parents, children, and teachers that the district refuses to accept such misconduct from its employees. We also ask that you announce a path of action that will ensure that the Deputy Superintendent receive the professional development necessary to address his lack of understanding in this matter. Finally, we suggest that the Deputy Superintendent, if he is to continue in his position, address this publicly to reassure the parents, teachers, and students of our community that he acknowledges the importance of honesty in one’s work and the field of education.
Thank you,
Matthew Lenaghan
This entry was posted
on Friday, May 16th, 2008 at 12:33 pm by Diana Costello.
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Great response. The letter on the website was a joke. He blatantly copied the letter and tried pass it on as his own. Nice guy, but no longer can be trusted. If he does not step down, then all of Ossining will suffer. The school board has some nerve protecting him and sweeping this dispicable act under the rug.
I know for a fact that the district takes a hard line on this vs. students. Thus it is clear the Board of Education and Dr. Glassman must take an equally hard line with the #2 leader. We in the community have no tolerance for a double standard.
But I don’t belive resignation is necessary. This was just plain dumb and talent is hard to find. When you get it, you really do want to keep it. If our elected Board had the judgement to appoint Mr. Sanchez to this post, we must buy in to that judgement and believe he will be a long term asset to the District.
Public apology, some community service are more appropriate considerations. This transgression needs to be permanently noted in his performance records. He should forced to discuss it with potential employers if and when he chooses to seek future career opportunities.
We need the Board of Education to rise to the occasion and do the right thing here.
Well, it appears that crime still pays … handsomely! The serious side suggests that Mr. Sanchez might now understand the tender turf classroom teachers must navigate daily to avoid any perceived error. Teachers live in the world of extemporaneous words and often are called to defend some throw-away statement that is suddenly a sensitive issue for some perceived victim. This is an entirely different matter. This was a studied use of words, not a statement of off-handedness.
At it’s worst, it’s terribly bad form. Why is now necessary to extract pounds of flesh in addition to the inherent humiliation? This man’s reputation was not created in a moment’s time … and it should not suffer permanent scarring for a silly moment of thoughtlessness. And are we all not capable of things much worse?
Mr. Lenaghan must be a rather remarkable human being to have avoided such a thorny moment in his lifetime. As for the now popular “teachable moment” business, by all menans grab this opportunity to instruct your youngster in the consequences of such poor decisions. But why flog this chap to drive home the point? What’s rich about that portion of your lesson? To kick someone when their down? I think the more effective lesson has a great deal less animosity in it. Why not offer this situation up as a moment of caritas for someone who is already plenty wounded? Imagine what a personal note from you … or that youngster you so dealy wish to teach … would do for this man at this time? Just a word of acknowledgement of “there but for the grace of God…” I suspect that lesson would have much longer life than one cemented in self-righteousness. And you might even feel noble for a moment.
Mr. Sanchz, this too shall pass. Good luck.
The Ossining school system by taking feeble action, has lost all credibility. Is this how someone attains a deputy superintendent position? Is this how someone progresses in the system? Nice example for the students. It’s 2008, and anything goes. Well, so should the school board.
Dear District Supporter,
You state that we have no tolerance for this in our community, then you go on to outline a non-punishment and tell us that talent is hard to find.
Frankly I see no talent in this man whatsoever. At what point do we as a community draw a line and suggest to our schools that we demand better? The district is underachieving just like Sanchez.
It is high time that we take our school system back from these people who come here with their own agendas, under-perform and continuously are supported by us. How many times will we be hit in the head with a bat before we learn to duck?
This matter should be a referendum on the upcoming budget vote and $100 million is absolutely out of line. The school board will simply have to write another budget, or maybe they can just copy one from another district.
Vote “NO” on the budget!
I have worked in the public school system for twenty years and have seen and heard too many excuses why teachers and administrators are forgiven for their unprofessionalism or even questionable behavior. As an aide in the public school I would be fired immediately for any such behavior. (By the way I don’t even make 20,000 a year) I find it so hard to believe that we as a society accept and look the other way when someone in power or is tenured does something so wrong. When is the whole public school system going to wake up and realize that we are role models for our young children and we keep rewarding the behavior we don’t and won’t except (sometimes) from the students. It is so easy to just avoid confrontation but I really think that the state of New York should really start cleaning house in the public schools, too many have been paid the big money for sitting in their office in their expensive office equipment, passing judgment on to the staff in the schools when they have NO clue what is even going on. Get your hands dirty just one day, crawl down into the trenches with the under paid, over worked staff you (Mr. Sanchez)that you tried to pay tribute to for Teacher Appreciation Week then maybe just maybe you will be able to come up with your own sincere, and complimentary words the next time you try to pat your staff on the back for a job well done! By the way, this happens in one way or another in every school district in the state of New York.