This is rather outrageous. I have a feeling the NY Attorney General wll be looking into this one.
nypost.com/p/news/local/manh … 8MQ0jjsT2L
Thanks for posting. I would like to see NYC end taxpayer funding of this. Let the organization succeed or fail as a for-profit business.
I don’t have a problem with the city using/paying for the expertise of a well run non-profit. Clearly, Chess in the Schools is not well run and may be in violation of law regarding its investments.
I make nowhere near $50 per hour in the Atlanta area after-schools program and neither does anyone else. Of course, the problem for a profit company is that it cannot do poor schools as it must make money to survive.
The issue here isn’t what the classroom chess teacher is paid. The CEO salary and investment with a director’s company having a conflict of interest is the core that I suspect the NY AG will be looking at.
Links to NY Post Pieces:
nypost.com/p/news/local/manh … 8MQ0jjsT2L
nypost.com/p/news/local/ches … liIOoDLnfP
So, isn’t a shame that there are several 6-figure-a-year chess jobs that go to non-players, while you have Chess geniuses that sleep on park benches.
I’m getting blamed for these articles of course, because I blew the whistle on CIS years ago, and got fired for my trouble.
The truth is that the Post read the NYT portrait of CIS President Marley Kaplan (link: nytimes.com/2009/11/12/giving/12EXEC.html ) and said um, wait a minute here. The article makes it out like Marley Kaplan makes $25,000 a year out of the goodness of her heart. It even has been quoted in two sermons available online as an example of conquering greed.
The Post looked up her salary on Charity Navigator, and low and behold, she makes over $230,000 a year.
I complained when she made $180,000 and her response was to give herself an additional $50,000+ a year raise, all the while cutting services to the schools and kids.
CIS went from 50 instructors in 2001 to less than 20 now, while the administration swelled to the point where there are more Vice Presidents than Staff Instructors (trick question, the Staff Instructor position was eliminated).
I made around $25,000 a year at CIS, working full time and teaching 1,000 students. No benefits. No sick days. No holiday pay. No summer pay.
Only two people in the entire admin corps are actual players, and even they have turned a blind eye due to the enormous salaries they enjoy and hope to enjoy in the future.
Its time for a clean sweep and a reorganization that returns CIS to an organization that is actually “IN” the schools, and not in their palatial midtown offices. It is time for their board of directors to change either CIS or themselves.
CIS is a one of a kind institution in our world. Not only is it worth saving, it is worth fighting for.
Sincerely,
Chris Kerrigan
aka C.K. Damrosch
Thank you, Chris
Apparently Ms. Kaplan does do something to promote a game in the public schools, too bad its Bridge:
Please do not repost copyrighted material without permission of the copyright holder.
edited to just link. better?
-c
Yes, much. Thanks.
Here are some hilarious links to sermons and church newsletters about the saintly Marley Kaplan and her war on greed:) Somehow I don’t think Jesus worked for $235,000 a year while charging $2,500 for loafes and fishes…
allsaintsbrookline.org/sermons/DK100926.html
goodshepherdmd.org/News/Shep … _09_26.pdf
and of course, check out the sequel:
nypost.com/p/news/local/ches … liIOoDLnfP
and another thread:
I’m still being blamed for this, which not only is blame the messenger, it didn’t work the last time when they fired me. I had moved on, but now that I’m suddently the cause for Ms. Kaplan making $234,000 a year, I am forced to speak out yet again.
The question remains at this hour, will Ms. Kaplan spend more of the donors money defending her enormous salary, further depriving the children of New York, or for the good of Chess in the Schools, will she resign? Either way, her game is lost.
Chris, I don’t think the quoted NY Post article blames you at all for this.
And this
meaningless statement means they must have no excuse at all.
Well, every where I go I’m told that CIS’s responce to all this is that “its just a disgruntled ex-exmployee.”
I take issue, of course, because a disgruntled ex-employee is fired for A, but complains about B. I was fired for making the same charges the Post made. The more accurate description, in my mind, would be Whistleblower…
part of what is difficult to see from outside, is that Chess in the Schools is an extremely uptight organization. people literally live in fear of losing their job and are very reluctant to speak out.
basically the people in these high paying admin jobs know they aren’t qualified. it makes them very touchy and insecure, so they feel they have to keep the chess people in line.
note you haven’t seen any current CIS employees in this thread. you have to sign a gag order preventing you from speaking to the media. privately, though, almost every instructor that worked there when I did has shown sympathy.
This is because just after I was fired, I used the opportunity to urge the instructors to unionize. I told them they had no job security and those few that had benefits could lose them. Events proved I was right, as those who weren’t fired took a pay cut and lost their health care.
Here was the letter I sent:
Dear Chess Instructors,
I apologize in advance if this email is an unwanted intrusion, but I understand that CIS sent around an email stating that I had been terminated, an email that I wish to briefly respond to.
CIS won’t tell me why I was fired, so I’m left to assume its because I pointed out to Ms. Kaplan than an insufficient percentage of CIS’s donations actually find their way into the classroom.
I based this on freely available public information found at Charity Watchdog websites like Charity Navigator. I invite you to look at the numbers yourself, and form your own conclusions.
You might note a few tidbits, like Ms. Kaplan makes $185,000 a year, while many of you do not get health benefits.
I was also accused of trying to unionize CIS. Guilty as charged. President Obama has insured labor groups that he will pass the EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE ACT this year. This insures your right to form a union without permission from management, as well as making it a crime to retaliate against you if you do.
I think you are hard working professionals who deserve to be treated with more respect than you currently get. I cite that first meeting of the year, when Ms. XXXX berated Alex and Joel like 3rd grade children for raising legitimate concerns about CIS’s obsession with club numbers.
In addition, you work on a contractual basis which allows CIS to not renew your work status basically at will. Many of you get zero sick days, no holiday or summer pay, and work under that weird hourly rate which doesn’t include the vast amount of time we spend organizing our schools.
Meanwhile, everyone in management has moved up a step, creating now four Vice Presidents and 16 administrators. They all get health care and many make 6 figure salaries. This results in a situation where CIS spends 3.5 million dollars a year, yet is only in a handful of schools!
In addition, a union would be invaluable to you if you were ever falsely accused in a classroom situation. This happens frequently in the school system, a kid makes something up for example, and right now you have NO PROTECTION should you personally get sued. I hope this kind of situation never arises, but be aware if it does, you are on your own.
Both Nonprofit and teaching unions exist that would love to help you and anyone that would like to explore this option.
On a personal note, it was the high point of my professional career to work with all of you. You are simply fabulous, I’ll miss you, and I wish all of you the best of luck in the future.
Sincerely,
Christopher Kerrigan
So after this, Marley Kaplan gave herself a $50,000 raise…Staff Instructor position was eliminated, many instructors let go, fees charged to schools for the program for the first time, free chess sets to kids eliminated, free workbooks eliminated, and yes, no pencils at tournaments (which was actually their first cut as the economy soured, as ridiculous as that sounds, why start at such a tiny and yet important expense. You want the kids to keep notation, is too much to ask to provide them with a golf pencil?). Anything but cut back on Administration costs.
At this point I have to ask, where is the outrage? How could the board continue to back Ms. Kaplan? How can she be allowed to spend donors money on her own defense?
If I’m bothering anyone with this extended thread, I apologize, but if you ask me this as big a Chess scandal as we’ve seen since the messes at FIDE, possibly worse. Chess in the schools has always had its ups and downs, but surely this is a new low.
If you have any interest in what happens at CIS, consider urging the board members (listed on CIS’s website: chessintheschools.org/s/index.cfm?SSID=14) to change leadership at CIS and begin a thorough top to bottom review of its practices, administrative structure, and spending.
Take a look on Charity Navigator, check my numbers and then ask yourself, how many kids could you teach chess in a year if I gave you four million dollars?
self edited to reflect guideline:
I’m also a little peeved that a chess-playing member of this highly paid admin corps actually urged me to write my concerns down in the first place and send them to C.I.S. When the pawns hit the fan, however, he was silent on the sidelines…
The letter that started it all:
2/25/09
Dear Ms. Morales,
After a conversation in his office on 2/23/09, Mr. Boocock suggested I put my concerns into a letter addressed to you. He said it would then be considered by others in Chess-in-the-Schools.
The gist of my complaint was that the Instructor position at C.I.S. should include health benefits and regular pay. The position is a full time professional post that deserves to recognized as such. To compound the problem, Mr. Boocock confirmed that promotion from this position to Staff Instructor takes “a minimum of two years.” You are basically asking us to work for a significant period of time without coverage.
This is because the coverage offered requires a prohibitive employee contribution. While $200 for single, $300 for a couple may not seem like much, this position also does not pay a dime when school isn’t in session. For example, because of February break, my last paycheck was $484. Now deduct $300 if I bought health care. How does one pay rent in New York City with $184?
A waiting period of 30 or 60 days would seem reasonable, but waiting two years for just the chance of maybe getting benefits, is not reasonable. Mr. Boocock added that C.I.S. has had trouble retaining former D.O.E. employees because of this limited pay and benefit situation. D.O.E. is not exactly the highest paying employer in the world, so if you are losing out to them, that isn’t a great sign. In fact, C.I.S. Instructor pay is actually less than D.O.E. substitute teacher pay...
Mr. Boocock informs me that an upward change is unlikely at this time. I replied with the apparently contriversial but factually true observation that C.I.S. employs 16 administrative personnel, but only 20 odd instructors while somehow maintaining expensive Manhattan office space. There are several positions listed as Vice Presidents, I believe, that needn’t be. There are several secretarial level positions that are labeled as management. Mr. Boocock told me that office cutbacks are in the works, but suggested I write this letter.
But this very letter is a good example of what I’m getting at. Mr. Boocock told me to write down my concerns, send them to Ms. Morales who would forward it to Mr. Boocock, who would then discuss it with Ms. Pitari-Hugo who would check with Ms. Hilerio and finally Ms. Kaplan.
The purpose of this letter is not to point fingers, but simply to suggest in light of the economic turmoil that when inevitable reorganization hits C.I.S. that we return far more of our donors money to what our name actually says: Chess IN the Schools and less on administration costs and flashy props. I’m sure this sentiment would be seconded by our donors.
I feel in the past when I voiced this concern I was disciplined. I was actually accused of trying to unionize C.I.S. In fact, my purpose here comes purely from my love of Chess. There are very few institutions like C.I.S., and I feel they need to be cherished and protected. I hope that what I have written today is taken in that spirit, and I will not be further retaliated against.
Sincerely,
Chris Kerrigan
Curious as to why so few NY USCF members have commented on this thread. What is their take on what has happened?
Some questions:
- Is Chess in the Schools (CIS) the same org. that had as its original money a bequest to fund the development of master level chess?
- Is CIS the same org. that leased space to the Manhattan Chess Club, which later went under because of finanicial problems and the loss of its lease?
- How many individuals teach chess for CIS? How many administrators and support personnel are there?
- How many schools are in NYC? How many are served by CIS?
- What involvement does the USCF have with CIS? Has the USCF facilitated the CIS mission in any way?
- Are their comparable organizations in NYC providing chess in the schools? Have any of these organizations received funding from the state or the city?
- What are the chances of an investigation by the state AG or the city DA concerning the funding and operations of CIS? Does the state have regs. on non-profits and the management of endowments?
If this blows up into a big controversy, it could have a real negative spillover effect on others who want to put chess in the schools IMO. This looks like a juicy scandal that might become a political football to embarrass a governor, et al, in NY politics. Anything can be grist for the mill in the present political climate. Unfortunately, it could also affect a lot of kids and teachers, too.
no one is commenting because the whole thread is one guy talking to himself. chicken…egg…
tmagchesspgh–
excellent questions. I’m happy to turn this thread over to other people who are interested. Billwong, don’t be a hater, and note I didn’t start this thread.
Lets do #4 first, because it is a very important stat and shows a lot about whats going on.
NYCDOE is the largest school system in the US, with over 1.1 million students in over 1,700 schools, employing over 80,000 teachers with a $21 Billion annual budget.
Its new chancellor makes $250,000 a year, only a few thousand more than Marley Kaplan.
The latest information I have is that CIS currently employees only 13 instructors and 5 coaches.
In terms of how many kids in the program, you have to sort through some fuzzy record keeping by CIS. They would like to add any kid who shows up afterschool for a club, or plays a game in a tournament as a graduate of their program. But really the meat of the program is the actual instruction in the classrooms.
Each instructor only has (at most) 4 schools, and in these only 3rd grade and 6th grade gets this instruction.
SO, doing some simple math, CIS is only doing its formal instruction in well under 100 schools (more like 50-60).
Clearly CIS is in less than 1% of NYC schools.
They aren’t in HIGH SCHOOLS at all!!!
Yet, and this is why I’m so passionate about this, CIS takes the air out the room for all chess programs in the City. People assume “oh, there is Chess in the Schools for that” when the reality is that they reach a pathetically small group of kids. As I’ve said before, they USED to have 50 instructors back in 2001, so why has it shrunk so while admin keeps going up and up?
Obviously this scandal isn’t going to be good for them in the short term, but if they can get some better leadership and totally revamp their bloated structure, there is no reason that CIS can’t emerge stronger and better. As for spillover into other Chess programs, right now CIS is hogging up all the national resources, it may well be that a reorganization would actually help other Chess programs.