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Troy LaRaviere still eligible to run for president of Chicago Principals and Administrators Association (CPAA) despite attacks... 'We need to stay focused on the corrupt fiscal management and incompetent education policy of our district and our city' LaRaviere told supporters...

George Schmidt - April 23, 2016

Blaine Elementary School principal Troy LaRavier is still eligible to be elected President of the influential (and potenially powerful) Chicago Principals and Administrators Association (CPAA) despite efforts by the current administration of Chicago Public Schools to gag him and deprive him of the office he is currently running for. According to the CPAA constitution, a nominee is eligible to run for office if the nominee is a CPS employee in good standing at the time of the nomination. Two principals (one retired) who asked to remain anonymous told Substance of this fact on April 22, two days after agents of CPS "Chief Executive Officer" Forrest Claypool announced that LaRaviere was being taken out of his job as principal of Blaine Elementary School.

LaRaviere thanks the hundreds of teachers, principals, parents and others who have publicly stated their support for him on social media and through other methods. One of those condemning the attempt by the appointees of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to silence LaRaviere is Democratic Party presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, who had received LaRaviere's support. Many of those who have publicly stated their support for LaRaviere, including this reporter, have insisted that this case is a major First Amendment case on behalf of teachers, principals and other public workers.

Meanwhile, supporters of the Emanuel and Claypool administrations have tried, almost always anonymously, to challenge LaRaviere's rights and in some cases, also anonymously, to slander the outspoken critic of the Emanuel administration and corporate "school reform."

LaRaviere has also issued a statement thanking his supporters and questioning the Board of Education's action:

Thank you to the thousands of people who have expressed support for me and my work.

For those who plan on taking some kind of action, please ensure it is purposeful and well-informed. With that said, any action should take the following information into account.

I STILL HAVE NOT BEEN INFORMED OF THE CHARGES AGAINST ME.

At this point, this should be at the core of any effort to support my case. Any protest or other efforts should focus on forcing CPS to tell me what they’re charging me with. Here is some background information that should inform such efforts.

CPS officials claim I missed a “hearing.” The claim is misleading to say the least. On Tuesday—the day before the “hearing”—they sent me the following message in an email:

“We have scheduled an important meeting with you at 2pm tomorrow regarding ethics and other matters. Please come to the Law Department on the 9th floor at 1 North Dearborn. Thank you.”

First–As you can plainly see–there is no mention of any possible discipline or misconduct violations. There is no reference to my “employment status” in this message or even any direct indication that I had violated any policy. Just a vague discussion of “ethics.”

Second—it was sent on short notice the day before the meeting.

Third—it was sent via email. No phone call. No letter. Just a vague email the day before the meeting.

Unfortunately I didn’t receive the email on time because I took a sick day on Tuesday to take care of my son who had a minor surgery scheduled that day. I therefore could not attend a meeting that I didn’t know about. Based on the last minute email-only notification, it appears this was the result CPS officials were hoping for.

Again, since we don’t know what the alleged violations are, I believe ANY EFFORTS TO SUPPORT MY CASE SHOULD FOCUS ON FORCING CPS TO TELL ME WHAT THEY’RE CHARGING ME WITH. After they reveal the charges people can then decide what next steps need to be taken.

There is still quite a bit to be told about what happened on Wednesday. The corruption behind CPS’s actions that day was readily apparent. I intend to write about it soon. In the meantime, my attorney wants me to spend some time with him preparing our case. I’ll have a statement ready once that work is done.

Finally, my message is that we need to stay focused on the corrupt fiscal management and incompetent education policy of our district and our city. That’s what I’ve tried to highlight. This is not about me. This is about corruption, and I am an obstacle to that corruption. At some point I’m hoping all of us will be obstacles to it

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