‘Union-busting’ at Riverhead Charter School charges expand, as NYSUT files new complaint

More improper labor practice charges against the Riverhead Charter School have been filed with the Public Relations Labor Board by New York State United Teachers, RiverheadLOCAL has learned.

The new charges allege additional violations of the state Public Employees Fair Employment Act. Two of the charges allege illegal firings of teachers because of their support for the teachers union; the third charge alleges harassment of and retaliation against a teacher still on staff at the school.

As reported by RiverheadLOCAL Thursday (see prior story, Riverhead Charter School under fire for ‘union-busting,’ according to NYSUT improper labor practice charge) NYSUT filed a complaint with PERB last month, accusing Riverhead Charter School principal Raymond Ankrum Sr., the administration and the school’s leadership team of using intimidation, threats and firings to destabilize the relationship between the union and its members, in a systematic effort to get the union at the school decertified by state labor officials.

The new complaint, filed on Thursday, alleges that Ray Patuano, one of a large crop of new teachers hired at the start of this school year, was fired after voicing support for the union at a staff meeting being run by leadership team member Robert Cook, a physical education teacher at the charter school.

Another teacher, Brandon Lloyd, was fired after refusing to sign a union decertification petition being circulated at the school, according to the complaint. In December, Lloyd was approached by student support manager Stephanie Werner, who indicated that he was “required to sign the petition to decertify” the union, according to the complaint. He was advised by Werner that his “employment would be impacted” if he refused to sign the petition, the complaint states. He refused to sign the petition. He was fired on March 21.

An employee filed the decertification petition with PERB on Dec. 20, but it was rejected by PERB as deficient.

The new complaint also alleges harassment and retaliation by the principal against kindergarten teacher Donna Ruddy. The teacher was placed on a “teacher improvement plan” and then removed from the plan, being told she would be “reviewed” at the end of this school year, according to the complaint. The school has “attempted to intimidate, harass and alarm Ms. Ruddy by preparing letters of reprimand” for things such as going to the bathroom during the school day, the complaint states.

The Riverhead Charter School is “one of the worst instances of union animus and intimidation of employees I’ve seen in my 15-year-plus career,” Peter Verdon, regional staff director of the NYSUT Local 22170 said last week.

Ankrum declined comment when reached last week, referring a reporter to the school’s attorney, Sharon Berlin, a partner in the Melville law firm of Lamb and Barnosky.

“It’s a lot easier to throw stuff against the wall than it is to make it stick,” Berlin said in a phone interview last week. “There are a lot of things being thrown around out there.” She declined further comment due to pendency of the litigation.

The charges will be assigned to an administrative law judge for a hearing, most likely in May, according to NYSUT.

The school’s charter, set to expire this year, was renewed this month for a three-year term, through June 30, 2017.

The State Education Department recommended the three-year renewal, though in its report it cited concerns about falling proficiency scores, high teacher turnover rates, teacher inexperience, the effectiveness of its board of trustees and tensions among stakeholders at the school, including tensions between the Board of Trustees and the principal, who filed a complaint against the board with the SED on Oct. 21. He subsequently withdrew his complaint and told state regulators on Dec. 13 his concerns had been resolved.

The Board of Trustees “does not act in accordance with some laws, regulations, rules and other school-specific policies,” the report said. It has taken actions without having a quorum present, has improperly dismissed a board member in violation of the Charter School Act and has violated the state’s Open Meetings Law, conducting large portions of its meetings in lengthy executive sessions, making it “challenging for parents and community members to remain informed,” and discouraging stakeholders from attending board meetings, the SED charter renewal report said.

The board has also made “a material change to its charter” by altering its mission statement without prior Board of Regents approval, according to the report.

Riverhead Charter School opened in September 2001 with an enrollment of 250 students in grades K-5. It revised its charter to add grade 6 in 2003 and again in 2013 to add grades 7 and 8, increasing its maximum enrollment to 414 students. The Board of Trustees oversees the school’s $3.83 million budget, according to state records. The school is currently pursuing a $16.5 million construction project to replace its existing modular building with a two-story, 30,128-square-foot modular building that will better accommodate its expanded student body.

Riverhead Charter School was the first charter school in the state to be union-organized, NYSUT’s Verdon said.

Correction: A previously published version of this story incorrectly stated that the school filed the decertification petition; it was filed by an employee of the school.