The people have spoken — and voted for the guy in the rubber room.
Teachers at Staten Island’s IS 49 elected Francesco Portelos as their UFT chapter leader Wednesday — even though he is banished to a facility two boroughs away.
He may be the first city educator elected as a union rep despite being assigned to a rubber room.
“It’s never been done before,” claimed Portelos, a tech teacher. “. . . They can’t break me.”
The 43-32 vote means he will replace Richard Candia in the nonpaying United Federation of Teachers post.
It’s also the latest volley in a feud between IS 49 teachers and its administration that began when Portelos accused Principal Linda Hill of breaking Department of Education rules by not sharing details of the school’s $7.7 million budget with the parents and staff tasked with reviewing it, an accusation the DOE denies.
Hill hit him with three letters in 10 days charging insubordination, he was reassigned to “administrative duties” in Ozone Park, Queens, two months ago, and now he has more of a platform from which to battle.