Help Della Lenz fight a SLAPP lawsuit
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Over the course of a year, parent Della Lenz uncovered what appears to be serious misconduct by school-district administrators in the Irvington Union Free School District: theft of time and services, discrepancies in district records, budgetary inconsistencies, and violations of Taylor Law.
Della's discoveries are covered below by lohud reporter David McKay Wilson.
After her findings led to the resignation of Irvington’s director of technology, Jesse Lubinsky, Mr. Lubinsky filed a $6-million lawsuit against Della, claiming defamation.
Della’s investigation of Mr Lubinsky’s district work schedule was painstaking and thorough. She pieced the story together by FOILing district attendance records and approvals of professional development workshops, then comparing dates with those of Mr. Lubinsky’s postings to social media accounts. She spent a year of her life trying to find reasons for Mr. Lubinsky’s absences from work. Only then did she contact the press.
None of this took place in a vacuum. Mr. Lubinsky’s tweets and Instagram posts from around the world were well-known to parents, teachers, and residents.
Indeed, the district posted his 10/25/2015 Google-EdTechTeam workshop to its own account!
This post and others like it revealed that Irvington UFSD had paid Google partner EdTechTeam to compensate Mr. Lubinsky for training Irvington teachers, the very teachers the district was already paying him a generous salary to train in house.
On March 1st, the Teachers’ Union voted by an overwhelming 167 to 7 to request that the board conduct an investigation by a disinterested party, “to prove that there have been no wrongdoings or improprieties committed by the Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Human Resources, and Assistant Superintendent of Business.”
On March 6th, the Board of Education sent an email to the community noting that legal counsel had reviewed “discrepancies associated with the records of a specific district employee,” and that they had “brought [the information] to the attention of the Westchester District Attorney and Office of the New York State Comptroller in a request for independent agency review.”
In sum, Della took the lead on an issue that had troubled many Irvington parents and that ultimately led to action by both the Irvington teachers union and the Board of Education. For performing this service to her community, she is being subjected to the emotional and financial hardship of a lawsuit that serves no purpose other than to punish a parent for uncovering and revealing the truth.
Mr. Lubinsky’s action is a classic SLAPP (Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation) lawsuit : “a lawsuit filed to stifle legitimate criticism and commentary.”
Funds raised will assist Della to:
- defend herself against Mr. Lubinsky’s punitive and frivolous six-million dollar lawsuit
- underwrite legal fees made necessary by IUFSD’s continued denial of access to public records via FOIL requests
Please help Della fight Jesse Lubinsky’s SLAPP lawsuit.
~~~~~~~~~~
Local news coverage:
3/6/2019: Irvington to cooperate in Google contractor probe by Westchester DA and state comptroller by David McKay Wilson
2/1/2019: Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins calls for comptroller probe of Irvington schools
1/31/2019: How Google influenced the Irvington schools through its director of technology, who quit
1/31/2019: Jesse Lubinsky's travels for EdTechTeam to promote Google took him from Las Vegas to New Jersey
1/31/2019: In 30 seconds: How Google influenced the Irvington School District through its director of technology
~~~~~~~~~~
Irvington Union Free School Board of Education email to the community, 3/6/2019:
Dear Irvington School Community,
Legal counsel for the Irvington UFSD Board of Education has conducted an initial review into certain discrepancies associated with the records of a specific district employee. The Board has assessed this information and in recent weeks, brought it to the attention of the Westchester District Attorney and Office of the New York State Comptroller in a request for independent agency review. The Board will fully cooperate with the work of these agencies, and we have been asked by the District Attorney not to offer further comment at this time.
In addition, the Board will soon begin its own independent review of the District’s Human Resources practices and processes through the retention of an objective third party professional. We expect to provide information on this initiative in the coming days, and will continue to update our community as necessary.
Sincerely,
Michael Hanna
BOE President
Irvington UFSD
DONATE ANONYMOUSLY IF YOU LIKE: 1. Enter your donation; 2. Click "Hide name & comment" below your donation amount. Full directions here
Over the course of a year, parent Della Lenz uncovered what appears to be serious misconduct by school-district administrators in the Irvington Union Free School District: theft of time and services, discrepancies in district records, budgetary inconsistencies, and violations of Taylor Law.
Della's discoveries are covered below by lohud reporter David McKay Wilson.
After her findings led to the resignation of Irvington’s director of technology, Jesse Lubinsky, Mr. Lubinsky filed a $6-million lawsuit against Della, claiming defamation.
Della’s investigation of Mr Lubinsky’s district work schedule was painstaking and thorough. She pieced the story together by FOILing district attendance records and approvals of professional development workshops, then comparing dates with those of Mr. Lubinsky’s postings to social media accounts. She spent a year of her life trying to find reasons for Mr. Lubinsky’s absences from work. Only then did she contact the press.
None of this took place in a vacuum. Mr. Lubinsky’s tweets and Instagram posts from around the world were well-known to parents, teachers, and residents.
Indeed, the district posted his 10/25/2015 Google-EdTechTeam workshop to its own account!
This post and others like it revealed that Irvington UFSD had paid Google partner EdTechTeam to compensate Mr. Lubinsky for training Irvington teachers, the very teachers the district was already paying him a generous salary to train in house.
On March 1st, the Teachers’ Union voted by an overwhelming 167 to 7 to request that the board conduct an investigation by a disinterested party, “to prove that there have been no wrongdoings or improprieties committed by the Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Human Resources, and Assistant Superintendent of Business.”
On March 6th, the Board of Education sent an email to the community noting that legal counsel had reviewed “discrepancies associated with the records of a specific district employee,” and that they had “brought [the information] to the attention of the Westchester District Attorney and Office of the New York State Comptroller in a request for independent agency review.”
In sum, Della took the lead on an issue that had troubled many Irvington parents and that ultimately led to action by both the Irvington teachers union and the Board of Education. For performing this service to her community, she is being subjected to the emotional and financial hardship of a lawsuit that serves no purpose other than to punish a parent for uncovering and revealing the truth.
Mr. Lubinsky’s action is a classic SLAPP (Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation) lawsuit : “a lawsuit filed to stifle legitimate criticism and commentary.”
Funds raised will assist Della to:
- defend herself against Mr. Lubinsky’s punitive and frivolous six-million dollar lawsuit
- underwrite legal fees made necessary by IUFSD’s continued denial of access to public records via FOIL requests
Please help Della fight Jesse Lubinsky’s SLAPP lawsuit.
~~~~~~~~~~
Local news coverage:
3/6/2019: Irvington to cooperate in Google contractor probe by Westchester DA and state comptroller by David McKay Wilson
2/1/2019: Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins calls for comptroller probe of Irvington schools
1/31/2019: How Google influenced the Irvington schools through its director of technology, who quit
1/31/2019: Jesse Lubinsky's travels for EdTechTeam to promote Google took him from Las Vegas to New Jersey
1/31/2019: In 30 seconds: How Google influenced the Irvington School District through its director of technology
~~~~~~~~~~
Irvington Union Free School Board of Education email to the community, 3/6/2019:
Dear Irvington School Community,
Legal counsel for the Irvington UFSD Board of Education has conducted an initial review into certain discrepancies associated with the records of a specific district employee. The Board has assessed this information and in recent weeks, brought it to the attention of the Westchester District Attorney and Office of the New York State Comptroller in a request for independent agency review. The Board will fully cooperate with the work of these agencies, and we have been asked by the District Attorney not to offer further comment at this time.
In addition, the Board will soon begin its own independent review of the District’s Human Resources practices and processes through the retention of an objective third party professional. We expect to provide information on this initiative in the coming days, and will continue to update our community as necessary.
Sincerely,
Michael Hanna
BOE President
Irvington UFSD
Organizer and beneficiary
Catherine Johnson
Organizer
Irvington, NY
Della Lenz
Beneficiary
