State Ed chief: SGF Supt. Orr acted in ‘bad faith’ transferring PE teacher to grade school

By Ben Westcott, Chronicle Staff Writer

Michael Music has taught physical education at South Glens Falls High School since 2006, and received tenure in 2009.

Last summer the School District transferred him against his will to a PE teaching position at Harrison Avenue Elementary School. He taught there all of the 2023-24 school year.

This fall, Mr. Music will return to the high school, after an appeal he made to the State Education Department resulted in Commissioner of Education Betty Rosa ruling on June 27 that his involuntary transfer must be annulled.

The record indicates that South Glens Falls Superintendent Kristine Orr and the Board of Education asserted Mr. Music’s transfer was made in the “best interests of the district” because one of two teachers selected to replace him as high school PE teacher coached two varsity sports, so could draw upon and further develop “the strong working relationships that invariably develop between a coach and their athletes.”

Mr. Music would not comment for this story. Superintendent Orr could not be reached for comment. The Chronicle called her office twice.

This article is based on documents pertaining to the transfer and appeal.

Mr. Music contended the transfer was disciplinary and violated the terms of the union’s collective bargaining agreement.

On June 8, 2023, Mr. Music was verbally informed of his reassignment to Harrison Avenue Elementary for the 2023-24 school year. That action came just a day after Supt. Orr wrote a counseling memo concerning an “interaction” between Mr. Music and a student the month prior.

In the memo, Supt. Orr described Mr. Music’s conduct during the interaction as “unacceptable” and directed him to refrain from discussing certain topics unrelated to the PE curriculum.

After being informed of his reassignment, Mr. Music requested a stay of his transfer to the elementary school, which Commissioner Rosa approved until the district’s Aug. 14 board meeting.

At that meeting, Mr. Music spoke to the board in opposition to his proposed transfer, according to meeting minutes.
The board and superintendent went into executive session. Upon returning to open session they unanimously approved transferring Mr. Music, by a 9-0 vote.

Mr. Music appealed to the State Education Department again.

In addition to requesting that his transfer be annulled and that he be reinstated to his position at the high school,

Mr. Music also requested that any reference to his transfer be removed from his personnel file and that he be granted a name-clearing hearing.

On June 27, the State Ed Commissioner largely vindicated Mr. Music. She ruled the transfer must be annulled and that Supt. Orr acted in “bad faith” when she issued a counseling memo and transferred Mr. Music a day later.

Commissioner Rosa said the district’s justification for the transfer — that the replacement coached two varsity sports — did not stand up to scrutiny as in the “best interests of the district.”

Commissioner Rosa pointed out that Mr. Music also coached a high school level sport, and that the district’s analysis failed to address how, or whether, Mr. Music’s skills were suited toward teaching in an elementary school.

She noted that the primary certification area of Mr. Music’s replacement is in business and marketing, and he only obtained a supplementary certificate to teach PE in June 2022.

Commissioner Rosa determined there is no evidence Supt. Orr and the board considered several factors in its collective bargaining agreement in connection with the transfer, particularly Mr. Music’s length of service with the district.

Mr. Music was not granted everything he was hoping for in his appeal, however. His requests that any reference to his transfer be removed from his personnel file and that he be given a name-clearing hearing were denied.

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