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He’s in the union. That’s why!
It makes sense that teacher Aryeh Eller collected nearly $1 million for doing almost nothing over 13 years, his brother said.
“What do you expect? He’s union,” Ayton Eller said yesterday. “That’s how much teachers get paid.”
His brother, Aryeh, 46, taught music at Hillcrest HS in Queens until he was yanked from the classroom in 1999 — and confessed to repeated sexual harassment of female students, according to an investigative report.
But Ayton said his brother shouldn’t be fired because “he has mental-health issues.”
It’s the city’s fault that his brother is still getting paid at a salary of $85,000 — and is the longest-sitting “rubber-room” teacher in the city, Ayton said.
“It’s on the Department of Education,” he said. “I mean, he’s still doing administrative work.
“He wanted to teach again, but I could see why they don’t want to put him back in a classroom, because even though he’s good 99 percent of the time, there’s that 1 percent chance where you don’t know,” Ayton said yesterday
“Mental illness runs in my family. He’s bipolar. He’s on different medications. He has mental issues,” Ayton said of his brother. “He’s stable now because of the medicine.”
Girls started complaining about Aryeh Eller’s unwelcome touching and comments in 1998.
One girl said that he told her she had “a beautiful face and body” and that the way she dressed “disturbs him” and made it hard for him to teach. One day, he pulled her into an empty room and blurted, “I love you,” according to a 2000 school-investigation report.
But he wasn’t fired because a hearing officer ruled that he hadn’t been told of his rights.
“He’s not a pervert,” said Ayton. “That was years ago, and he was probably just joking around.
“He’s married and has two kids now. He has a family to support. That’s why he never left.”
Aryeh obtained tenure when the Board of Education didn’t investigate the first complaints against him.
The Post reported on his situation Sunday, noting that he’s collected $943,000 plus health and pension benefits since his suspension in 1999.
That figure will hit $1 million this year.
His salary has steadily grown due to automatic longevity increases that are not affected by his “rubber-room” status.
He reports to a Queens office, where he handles data entry and paperwork and answers telephones, a Department of Education spokeswoman said.
Ayton Eller said his brother is misunderstood. “He’s a genius,” he said. “He was always very smart. He’s very talented.”
Aryeh Eller is a classically trained guitarist who has performed in local concerts.
A person answering the rubberroomer’s phone hung up when a Post reporter tried to speak with him yesterday.