SYSTEM FIREPROOFS RAPE-RAP TEACHER  

New York Post/Angela Montefinise

Marcia Amsterdam, a 31 year old Brooklyn speech teacher, was arrested in March 2007 forallegedly raping a 13 year old student in the backseat of her minivan. She was charged with seconddegree rape, second degree sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child and faces up toseven years in prison if convicted. Amsterdam is still pocketing her city paycheck, thanks to adisciplinary system that critics say has too few hearing officers, too many bureaucratic delays andrules that make axing tenured teachers tough. She pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges inMay, collected paychecks for March, April, May and June. She has been a teacher for eight years andearns a minimum of $50,000 per year.

(New York)