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This city's superintendent of schools, who recently put two dozen teachers on unpaid leave for failing a basic English proficiency test, has himself flunked a required literacy test three times. He has flunked the test three times yet still holds his $156,560 a year position.

Wilfredo T. Laboy called his failing scores "frustrating" and "emotional." He blamed his performance on a lack of preparation and concentration, as well as the fact that that Spanish is his first language. Poor fellow. I guess it goes without saying that he's a first generation immigrant here. Everyone knows second and third generation childen of Immigrants would never have this problem.

"It bothers me because I'm trying to understand the congruence of what I do here every day and this stupid test," Laboy told The Eagle-Tribune of Lawrence in a story published Sunday. "What brought me down was the rules of grammar and punctuation," Laboy said. "English being a second language for me, I didn't do well in writing. If you're not an English teacher, you don't look at the rules on a regular basis." Well that's true. But then most people don't have a major in education.

State Education Commissioner David P. Driscoll said he is aware of Laboy's troubles with the test, but would not say how many chances Laboy would be given to pass or what the consequences of another failure could be. I can't imagine why he woud know the penalties, after all the city's superintendent of schools has only failed the test three times. Sheesh!

He said Laboy was doing an excellent job leading the district, and is getting more time to prepare for the test. But he added, "He's going to have to pass. ...The situation will only get serious if he goes much longer without passing." Do ya think?

Since 1998, all Massachusetts educators -- from teachers to superintendents -- have had to pass the Communications and Literacy Skills Test, which measures basic reading and writing skills, including vocabulary, punctuation, grammar, spelling and capitalization. I think it's highly objectionable that he has to take this test in English. We should test him in his first language. How dare we subject him to this unfair humiliation?

Laboy, who receives a 3 percent pay hike this month that will raise his salary to $156,560, recently put 24 teachers on unpaid administrative leave because they failed a basic English test. Are they reinstating those people immediately? Oh the liberal mind. Rules are for them...