TIMESLEDGER | QNS.2 COM | JAN. 24-JAN. 30, 2020
BY JENNA BAGCAL
A Queens school district’s
education council expressed
disappointment over an
abruptly ended town hall meeting
last week with Schools
Chancellor Richard Carranza.
The Jan. 16 event in Bayside
descended into near chaos
when Carranza failed to fully
address “the safety of our children”
in light of recent accusations
of sexual harassment
and physical altercations at
M.S. 158, also in Bayside.
Several parents confronted
the chancellor regarding these
issues, but were met with a
slew of unanswered questions.
“While some questions addressing
budget, family notifications,
student concerns,
curricula development, staff
resources and support were
posed to the chancellor, unfortunately
an important and
current pressing topic in District
26 was not completely addressed
which is the safety of
our children,” read the statement
from CEC 26. “While
we applaud an open dialogue
for parents with the chancellor
about this topic, unfortunately
the chancellor chose
to end the meeting abruptly
due to what he felt as ‘safety
concerns.’”
CEC 26 President Adriana
Aviles confirmed to QNS last
week that it was the chancellor’s
decision to end the meeting.
Things became contentious
after a Bayside father
requested “just one minute”
to share the story of his daughter’s
sexual assault at the
hands of a fellow classmate.
Audience members — including
one whom Aviles
identified as a staff member to
Councilman Robert Holden —
began yelling over the father,
urging the CEC to “let him
speak.”
While the CEC and Aviles
herself said that it was the
chancellor’s decision to end
the meeting, the Department
of Education replied with its
own statement saying that it
was a collaborative decision.
“Once it became clear
the town hall was no longer
going to be a productive
conversation, the DOE and
CEC president ended the
meeting. As always, every
question asked is going to
be addressed,” said DOE
Spokesperson Miranda
Barbot in a statement.
In the wake of last Thursday’s
meeting, M.S. 158 sent
out a letter to parents reminding
them of the “procedures,
resources and support available
should your child experience
any kind of troubling incident
or crime at school.”
The school identified several
ways for parents to handle
such incidents including
reporting it to administration
and staff directly, using a complaint
form, reporting it online
or emailing the Office of
Safety and Youth Development
(OSYD) at RespectforAll@
schools.nyc.gov.
“Schools are required to report
such complaints in their
Online Occurrence Reporting
System (OORS). You can ask
the school administration for
the incident number for follow
up. The school will conduct an
investigation and will inform
you of the outcome of the investigation.
If the investigation
finds that a student — or
students — have been bullying
or harassing your child, the
school will follow the process
described in the Discipline
Code,” said M.S. 158 in a letter
to parents.
BY JENNA BAGCAL
A contentious education
town hall for District 26 parents
abruptly ended after
about 40 minutes on Jan. 16
after Schools Chancellor Richard
Carranza refused to address
the father of a teen who
was sexually assaulted at M.S.
158 in Bayside.
Hundreds of concerned
parents attended the standingroom
only event at M.S. 74 in
Bayside, which began with
prewritten questions read by
members of Community Education
Council (CEC) 26. But
things took a turn after the father
called out from the crowd
requesting “just one minute”
of time to speak.
The crowd yelled “answer
this man,” and “let him
speak,” urging the CEC and
chancellor to give the parent
time to express his concerns.
QNS spoke to the father after
the meeting, but we are withholding
his name to protect
the identity of his daughter.
“The school basically just
covered it up and all I wanted
to do was just talk. But I know
they wouldn’t let me talk,” he
said. “It’s just disconcerting.”
Queens elected officials
representing eastern Queens
recently collaborated on a letter
to Carranza demanding
answers about the recent troubles
at M.S. 158.
According to the DOE, the
agency is currently taking
steps to retrain staff at the
school and communicate more
effectively with families. They
are also adding more staff
including safety agents and
counselors.
While the crowd continued
to jeer the chancellor, a CEC
member on the stage attempted
to speak over the crowd and
ask the next question to no
avail.
“These are questions from
our community and they will
be heard,” CEC 26 President
Adriana Aviles said as she
held up the public comment
cards.
Outraged mother Katty Sterling,
whose daughter was involved
in a physical altercation
at M.S. 158 approached the stage
and said that “nobody is doing
anything” to reprimand the student
who instigated the fight.
“The other student is sitting
in school getting all the privileges
and what is my daughter
doing? Sitting at home, sick,
getting traumatized,” yelled
Sterling.
The chancellor and CEC
members were seen conferring
on stage before Aviles
announced that the meeting
would have to cut the meeting
short. Aviles told QNS that the
decision to end the town hall
was the Department of Education’s
decision and not the decision
of the CEC.
“Parents are our most
important partners, and the
Chancellor regularly meets
Photo: Jenna Bagcal/QNS
with families and elected officials
for productive dialogue,
just as he did in District 26 in
both meetings and a town hall
last night. The Chancellor addressed
a wide range of concerns
and made it clear he’s
taking decisive action. Once
it became clear the town hall
was no longer going to be a
productive conversation, the
DOE and CEC President ended
the meeting. As always, every
question asked is going to be
addressed,” said DOE Spokesperson
Miranda Barbot in a
statement.
The meeting showed early
signs of distress as parents
“booed” Carranza during his
introduction. Parents at the
school’s entrance held signs
accusing Carranza of being
anti-Semitic and anti-Asian,
while other parents wore
shirts that read, “Save the
SHSAT.” When the town hall
ended, members of the crowd
chanted “fire Carranza.”
Before the meeting was cut
short, questions for the chancellor
included how the DOE
would increase transparency
between schools and parents
during emergency situations
and what the organization was
doing to ensure schools get full
funding under the Fair Student
Funding program.
Reach reporter Jenna Bagcal
by e-mail at jbagcal@qns.
com or by phone at (718) 260-
2583.
Chancellor Richard Carranza at the Jan. 16 town hall
Photo: Jenna Bagcal/QNS
CEC 26 criticizes Carranza
for failing to address the
‘safety of our children’
Parents blast schools chancellor
at heated town hall in Bayside
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