US News

BRONX TEACHER SIDESTEPS BOMB RAP

The veteran teacher who allegedly threatened to blow a Bronx school sky high said he was just making a “political” statement when he barricaded himself in his classroom, sparking a standoff with police.

The case against the teacher, who forced cops to evacuate the school amid fears of a bomb threat, fizzled today as details emerged about the toxic situation that apparently made him snap.

“A teacher did not snap. A teacher did not threaten to blow up the school,” Francisco Garabitos, 55, who had been barred from MS 328 in Marble Hill after allegedly choking a student, told the Post.

“I wanted the Department of Education to come and investigate the principal,” explained Garabitos, who forced authorities to evacuate the school’s 1,200 students during Friday’s three-hour staredown.

He claimed he “never mentioned” a bomb when he called 911.

“I just said I was going to shut down the school,” Garabitos said. “I am pursuing change. It’s a political movement by the union. The union wants a change of administration. We negotiate, but when they don’t pay attention, we try to do something dramatic.”

After spending Friday night in jail, Garabitos was released without bail today. The charges filed against him – criminal trespass, obstructing governmental administration and disorderly conduct, all misdemeanors – make no mention of a bomb threat.

MS 328 principal Dorald Bastian on Thursday had reassigned Garabitos to a “rubber room,” away from students, for allegedly grabbing a sixth-grader by the neck and slamming him into a wall – which the teacher denies.

In all, Garabitos has been investigated 14 times for alleged incidents of corporal punishment, two of which have been substantiated. While that has earned him reprimands, officials had never before tried to remove him.

Friday’s episode came just a month after 20 teachers sent a letter to the school superintendent claiming that tensions with Bastian had become so acrimonious that 60 percent of the staff had left the school over the last two years.

“We have tried our best to work with Mr. Bastian, but he has unfairly abused the power of administration to micromanage the instructional process and prompted the transfer out of potentially good new teachers,” read the letter, obtained by The Post.

Bastian did not return calls for comment.

Officials of the United Federation of Teachers said they knew of the ongoing dispute at the school, but sought to distance themselves from Garabitos’ actions.

“Nobody – I don’t care who it is – should put kids in harm’s way,” said UFT president Randi Weingarten.

Additional reporting by Lukas I. Alpert

erin.calabrese@nypost.com