Pending Lawsuits Lead Me to 2007-10 Affirmative Action Report

Part I of who knows how many

With the district facing more than one lawsuit with claims of hostile work environment, harassment, discrimination and retaliation (one of these lawsuits is from a PPSD student) I started wondering awhile ago if there was a plan, or something, that could help shed some light into the district's working practices. There was. The 2007-10 Affirmative Action Report is a comprehensive report of equal opportunity and which was required by the state back then. The district has filed an annual assurance statement on the past couple of years since no one knows when, and if, a new plan will be required by the state. I obtained my own copy through the district, via an OPRA a few months ago, its link is at the bottom of this post.

Two weeks ago I finally sat to read the whole document and was surprised to read names of people who no longer are here, like Ms. Chiaravalloti who was signed on the Team Membership Form as the Affirmative Action Officer. Ms. Chiaravalloti resigned from her position of Chief of Staff on July 31, 2007. The position of Chief of Staff was one of the positions the Department of Education questioned when they performed their 2007 QSAC review of the district. Ms. Chiaravalloti was with the Plainfield school district 3 1/2 years according to THIS 2007 BOE agenda, p.33.

But the obsolete names and titles are just one small part of the entire document. My search started, should I forget it, looking for working practices of the school district. The Comprehensive Equity Plan (CEP), part of 2007-10 plan, contains a Summary Statement - CEP Achievements and Barriers from 2004-2007. An OPRA is in order for this old document, if for anything, for historical background. But the 2007-10 CEP says the following on compliance with equity regulations:

--The Affirmative Action Officer (AAO) needs to be a certified staff member. (The current AAO, Mrs. Dawn Ciccone, is certified as far as I know).

--There needs to be yearly training on equity training.

--There needs to be a district wide Affirmative Action team.

One of the items that grabbed my attention was that for the 2007-10 plan the district acknowledged that they were not in compliance with one of the AAO regulations, the one that called for the Affirmative Action Officer (of back then) to be a "certified" employee. This was the same person who held the position of Chief of Staff, which ultimately ended being questioned by the state at their 2007 QSAC personnel review, the same year this person resigned.

What looks like a corrective action plan for the report stated that the district would correct the above by "defining the responsibilities of the AAO, [would] require that the AAO be a certificated person and train the AAO to handle the district/charter school's equity' responsibility." The district would also "develop a job description with responsibilities listed."

And who was responsible to implement all the above?

Sorry, you will get the answer at the next post as this is already getting too long. But I think many of you already know the answer.

To get your own copy of the 2007-10 Plainfield School District Comprehensive Equity Plan, click HERE.

And to get a clear explanation of what the plan is supposed to be, from the NJDOE, click HERE for a powerpoint, and for the long form HERE.