A Manhattan judge had no legal basis to overturn an arbitrator’s 90-day suspension of a Staten Island teacher who had conveyed romantic thoughts to one of her students in instant messages and e-mails, a sharply divided panel of the Appellate Division, First Department ruled yesterday.
The decision by then-Supreme Court Justice Sheila Abdus-Salaam to upset the sanction had cleared the way for the city Department of Education to renew its request in an administrative proceeding to fire the teacher, Colleen McGraham. Justice Abdus-Salaam now sits on the First Department bench (See Profile).
