Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Chicago Sun‐Times – August 7, 1998
Author: Raymond R. Coffey
Chicago schools chief Paul Vallas is having serious trouble when it comes to firing principals –
and keeping them fired.
Incompetence doesn't seem to matter. Neither do nepotism nor cronyism. Even corruption can
draw a pass from the courts, wayward local school councils and self‐anointed protectors in the
burgeoning school reform industry.
Vallas is close to exploding with frustration. "We've got to jump through 30 hoops just to
remove a principal," he told me Thursday, "We've got a golden thing (Chicago school reform)
going here now and we could end up blowing it" because of the heavy handcuffs he has to wear
when trying to clean house.
If you're wondering just what Vallas is up against, consider what has been going on lately at the
Gale, Arai, Clemente and Tilton Schools.
Three times last year the School Board and Vallas ruled that Beverly Martin – the candidate of
prominent political carpetbagger Carlos Malave and his puppet LSC at Gale School – had not
been legally hired by the then‐LSC.
This week, Cook County Circuit Judge Albert Green overruled the Board and Vallas and found
Martin has a "valid and enforceable contract" to be principal of Gale.
Malave's LSC was drubbed in last April's election. And what Green's ruling means, Vallas noted,
is that "the new LSC is going to have to be stuck with Martin, who was part of the (Malave)
conspiracy under the old LSC."
Also this week, Vallas said he would move promptly to expel a 13‐year‐old girl student at Arai
School involved in the slashing of another girl student, who needed 200 stitches to close her
wounds.
The 13‐year‐old is the daughter of Pamela Barton – who, like Malave, you've read about here
before. She is LSC chairman at both Arai and Stockton schools, has been politically associated
with radical activist Walter "Slim" Coleman and Ald. Helen Shiller (46th), and has a pretty
gaudy police record herself.
Just before last April's LSC election, for instance, Barton was arrested on an assault charge
after allegedly abusing the Stockton principal and threatening to "kick your ‐‐‐."
Vallas now might be able to oust Barton from Arai, at least, since her daughter's expulsion
would leave Barton with no child in the school, which is a requirement for being LSC chairman.
But then Vallas still would be stuck with Principal Anthony Scott, who arrived at Arai after
being bounced in Vallas' wholesale clean‐out of incompetence and corruption at Orr High
School and fits right in with Barton.
Vallas now is investigating whether Scott failed to follow standing orders on officially reporting
attacks like the one on the slashed student and whether he did so as preferential treatment of
his boss, Barton.
Whatever the investigators find, the history on firing principals says Scott's case is not likely to
go away soon or easily. For instance:
Still again this week, the Board and Vallas won one, at least temporarily, in the seemingly
semi‐eternal wrangle at Clemente High School when Circuit Judge Ellis Reid ruled against
Clemente's "old guard" LSC, which has been ousted and is under investigation for alleging
misspending up to $1 million in poverty funds.
Reid's ruling and the "new guard" LSC cleared the way for Irene DaMota, the Board‐appointed
interim principal, to remain in the job. But that case isn't closed yet, either.
The attorney for Betzaida Figueroa, the old guard's choice for principal, said there remains
"every expectation" that Figueroa now will file a breach of contract suit.
Finally, remember Debrona Banks, "removed" by Vallas and the Board in January, 1996, as
principal at Tilton School? She promptly won reinstatement in a federal court.
But upon her return, Banks' performance got even worse. The Board "dismissed" her and
prevailed in state court. Banks now is appealing again.
What Vallas is looking for, hoping for, is help from the state Legislature to shorten the legal
odds against him being able to do what needs doing.