Truesee's Daily Wonder

 

Ken Murray/News (right)

 

PTA President Paulette Brown (right) got a letter from principal Andrew Buck (left) asking for a 'brief letter of support' on May 16.

 

An infamous Brooklyn principal - exposed by the Daily News for letters riddled with grammatical errors - is up for tenure and brazenly asking parents and teachers for support.

Andrew Buck of the Middle School for Art and Philosophy made headlines in October by denying his students textbooks and then sending rambling, nonsensical letters about it to parents.

Fedup parents and teachers were stunned that Buck would formally ask them for praise - and that he'd use Department of Education letterhead to do it.

"He's trying to scare us into writing recommendations to help him get tenure," said PTA President Paulette Brown, who got a letter from Buck asking for a "brief letter of support" on May16.

"He's crazy - he shouldn't be principal of anything," said Brown, whose daughter, Samantha, is in eighth grade at the East Flatbush school.

Buck sent out memos to parents and teachers on official Department of Education stationery in the past two weeks, asking them for notes that will be reviewed by officials making tenure decisions.

He also asked a number of his staffers for letters of recommendation in person. Many are scared he will retaliate against them if they don't comply.

"They're concerned he'll do something if they don't write it," said a teacher who received a memo from Buck that lists specific things to mention, such as his "leadership decisions" and "academic rigor."

Buck, who earns $129,913 a year as head of the C-rated school, is wrapping up his third year as principal and was denied tenure last June.

The techniques he has employed in his attempt to gain tenure are highly unorthodox, according to a spokeswoman for the principals union.

"I'm unaware of principals soliciting written requests for recommendations to parents and teachers," said Chiara Coletti, communications director of the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators.

An Education Department official said the matter has been referred to the special commissioner of investigation.

Buck drew criticism from parents and teachers this school year after sending out an error-filled email defending his policy of withholding textbooks.

The letter contained about 50 errors of logic and grammar and said textbooks weren't necessary in the learning process.

Angry parents printed it out and distributed it in front of the school before class one day.

Buck's more recent letters were far less offensive grammatically, featuring only one error. In one sentence, he used the word "your" instead of "you."

Voted the least-trustworthy principal in the city by the teachers union in 2008, Buck refused to comment on his latest controversy.