Exclusive | Brooklyn teacher NYC tried to fire decade ago for fixing grades is back in classroom and under fraud probe again: ‘No accountability’
The New York City Department of Education, or DOE, is once more wrestling with a teacher who has been accused of tampering with student grades. This issue pops up again more than a decade after the city first tried to terminate the same instructor over falsified Regents scores, a fact the Post recently confirmed.
Critics argue the case underscores a fundamental flaw in the city’s education system, where teachers who have earned tenure are shielded by a powerful union, even when they are clearly failing their pupils.
In June 2011, 63‑year‑old Osman Abugana was accused of “inappropriately changing the scores from failing to passing” on the state Regents physics exam for five students at Medgar Evers College Preparatory School, a public middle‑high in Brooklyn. A 2013 disciplinary opinion by a state‑appointed arbitrator, obtained by the Post, described the deceit as a moral failing beyond repair, insisting that Abugana’s conduct warranted dismissal. The DOE, after a probe by its Office of Special Investigations, called for his termination, arguing that “there is no option for a penalty in this case short of termination.” The department said his testimony during the administrative trial was “riddled with lies and misstatements,” proving he was “unfit” to teach.
Abugana, then a 51‑year‑old veteran with 19 years in the system, fought back with the backing of the New York State United Teachers union, which often defends NYC teachers during disciplinary hearings. Instead of losing his job, an arbitrator suspended him for one semester and ordered him to complete coursework on proper testing and grading practices. While under investigation, he would have spent close to three years in a DOE “rubber room,” the notorious holding spaces where disgraced teachers are paid to do nothing.
He has since returned to the classroom, teaching physics at Edward R. Murrow High School in Brooklyn and earning roughly $140,000 a year, according to records. Yet his teaching competence and grading ethics remain under scrutiny. After a new complaint of grade manipulation surfaced, Abugana’s principal, Allen Barge, reported the allegation to the DOE. “These allegations are very concerning and were promptly reported to the appropriate investigative office,” a DOE spokesperson said on Thursday, before refusing to comment further. “NYC Public Schools is committed to upholding the highest professional standards.” Barge did not answer phone calls, and the DOE declined to disclose when the investigation began.
Off the school grounds, Abugana declined to answer questions from the Post. Students from the Midwood school said he has resumed “old tricks,” quietly nudging grades up to keep kids from failing a class he can’t seem to teach properly. “He’s not that good at teaching,” one physics student told the Post, describing his classes as “really unfocused” and in need of guidance on how to actually teach. Another student claimed that “everyone in his class cheats on tests.”
The case has drawn criticism about the tenure system, with Jean Hahn, vice‑president of the parent‑led education advocacy group PLACE, noting, “Once they get tenure there’s no accountability.” She added, “They’re short‑changing the students.” Tenure in New York City is earned after only four years and affords teachers protection from dismissal without due process, even in the face of serious misconduct. In 2011, a teacher was granted tenure after just three years. State Assemblyman Sam Pirozzolo, former vice‑president of the NYC Parents Union and a plaintiff in a lawsuit against the state’s tenure system, said, “Tenure is absolutely being exploited and abused for people to be able to keep their job regardless of what harm they do to children.”
Abugana, who has been employed by the DOE since 1994, says the union “wants to protect teachers who have done bad things to their students. They don’t care about children, they only care about protecting their teachers.” Betsy Combier, a paralegal who assists in teacher defense cases, was unsurprised that Abugana found his way back to a classroom quickly. “The schools don’t want to get rid of somebody that’s willing to change grades. It’s an asset,” she explained. “Everybody wants somebody that will do that for them.” She added, “They want to look good because they need to get funded. They need to get the money, and they don’t want to lose their jobs. They don’t want to go under review by the state. Everything is based on how well they do. So, forging and changing grades is a good thing.”
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