Submitted by Arlo Duff, Aug 16, 2007 05:32

Dee Tanner brought up the issue of this prinicpal's background and whether other similar incidents were on her record. I actually attended and graduated from this high school, and this same principal, Maritza Tamayo, was principal of the school at this time as well. Let me tell you, the entire time she was there, she was always a fair, understanding principal, and I think this allegation is a surprise to anyone who knows her. I'm not saying the evidence doesn't say what it does, but my point is as someone who knew her and went to her school, I could never imagine her acting inappropriately or appropriating school funds or anything like that.

Let me also point out the background here. This is a principal who was desperate. When I went there, this school had the lowest graduation rate in all of New York City (my graduating class was supposed to have about 30 people graduating and only about 9 of us ended up making it). While I was there, there were frequent incidents of students misbehaving. I distinctly remember a situation in which the school was being sued because one of the students (no one ever found out who) threw a stool out the window in the morning and it landed on and wrecked someone's car. There were also a number of incidents in which a teacher's gradebook and glasses were thrown out the window, and that's just the tip of the ice burg. I've heard from friends of friends that the school has only gotten worse since then. That the students have begun fighting like crazy and even having sex in the stairwells, and that the school was scheduled to be closed down in a few years because of how out of hand it had gotten.

Now in all fairness, what I've heard about the school since my graduating, may or may not be exaggerated. It's just what I've heard. But the stuff that happened while I was there (stool and glasses out the window, etc.) definitely did happen. And if the part about the school being closed down is true, then most likely Ms. Tamayo was afraid for her job, felt pressured to get the school's rating up or something. Clearly, this was a desperate woman who turned to her religion to fix things.

Now does that mean she had a right to use Board of Ed. money for the ritual? Of course not. Obviously, she should have paid for it out of her own pocket. But I don't feel that someone who's desperate for their job should be reprimanded just for turning to their own religion for help. The incident took place during Winter break, when no students were in the building. The only harm done is the misuse of funds. And as someone who knows this principal, let me tell you, I'm positive this was a one time incident. I'm sure she would never misuse funds in this way again. She's been reprimanded, and I think she should be allowed to continue working for the Board of Ed. Now the issue of slaughtering chickens is another story, but that's an animal rights issue.

But all this being said, let me tell you what I find funny. I was actually banned from this school after I graduated. The reason? There was a school teacher who encouraged her students to raise funding for the controversial group, The March of Dimes, which many people feel supports cruel and unnecessary animal testing. I went there and asked the teacher to provide her students with both sides of the issue so the students could make an informed decision. She refused, even after I pointed out that the students had a right to know what they were supporting, and asked me to leave. Instead, I gave out flyers about the animal testing to the students, afterwhich the teacher promptly had me banned from the school. When I wrote to the school superintendant and the Board of Ed, and contacted the district attorney, no one cared that she was deliberately misleading her students. Yet once you bring "black magic" and $900 worth of funds into the picture, all of a sudden, everyone goes haywire. How's THAT for irony?

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