By Annie Linskey
The Baltimore Sun
Copyright 2007 The Baltimore Sun
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News

BALTIMORE — Two Baltimore fire unions want an investigation into allegations of cheating on the city's recent captain and lieutenant promotion exams after they said two members had unusually high marks.

Stephan G. Fugate, the head of the fire officers' union, said there is no proof of cheating but noted that lieutenants who scored in the top two slots of the captain's test are related and had results that were significantly higher than other test-takers. "That kind of gap in scores is unprecedented," he said.
 
Fugate also said that the firefighter who scored at the top of the lieutenants' test had taken the exam previously and failed. Fugate said that several of his members believe the city's human resources department — which administers the exam on behalf of the department — leaked the questions.

The Fire Department has contacted human resources officials to alert them about concerns over the test, but it is not asking for a formal investigation, said Rick Binetti, a department spokesman.

Gladys B. Gaskins, the director of the city's human resources department, did not respond to phone messages left with an assistant.

But the head of a group representing black firefighters rejected the call for an investigation. The top two scorers on the captains' test and the top three on the lieutenants' test are African-American. Henry Burris, the president of the Vulcan Blazers, called concerns "racially motivated," a charge that the union officials denied.

The exams are given once every two years, and the score is the sole basis by which firefighters rise through the ranks. The captain and lieutenant positions come with higher salaries and pensions but rarely become available — making the exam results important and competitive.

Richard G. Schluderberg, president of the rank-and-file firefighters' union, said yesterday he also wants an investigation to "protect the integrity of the test."

"Our department is in enough trouble without having a cheating scandal to deal with," he wrote in an e-mail to The Sun.

Binetti would not specifically discuss why the Fire Department contacted human resources: "The [fire] chief's office asked our administration people to inform human resources that, while we hadn't received any formal complaints, that there was some talk and accusations flying out there," he said.

Binetti added: "If human resources thinks there is reason to look into the test, then they'll look into the test. They were made aware of whatever rumors were floating around."

Anthony McCarthy, a spokesman for Mayor Sheila Dixon, said that he heard of the cheating allegations yesterday. "I would hope that the concern being expressed by certain parties has nothing to do with the success rate of African-Americans on these two exams," he said. "It would be very disappointing, if that was the case."

He added: "My initial sense is that the concerns are unfounded and unwarranted." He said that "genuine" concerns would be investigated.

The Vulcan Blazers president said all of the talk is just "rumors and innuendo."

"My opinion is that they are racially motivated because they are African-Americans who have scored very well," said Burris, whose group is not a formal union. "I think there was a test administered, and I believe those persons who took the test applied their knowledge."

Racial tensions soared at the Fire Department three years ago when an entirely white cadet class was selected based on an entrance test given by the city's human resources department. After The Sun reported on the racial makeup of the class, the Fire Department quickly added six African-Americans and changed its recruitment process.

But since then, debate has persisted among firefighters about whether the department is focusing too much on racial demographics, or if it should be applauded for increases in minority recruitment.

Four years ago, there were concerns about promotion exams given off-site at military bases. The human resources department did not respond to questions yesterday about what happened in that case. In the 1970s the department's promotion test leaked out and somebody made bracelets listing answers.

Fugate said the department asked his union to formally protest the test, but he waited to discuss the matter with his executive board until a meeting Monday night. The board agreed the union should make a formal complaint, and he said that he plans to do so today.

Binetti, the Fire Department spokesman, denied that officials had asked the union to get involved. "I think he misunderstood," Binetti said.

Fugate said that tempers are high among some of his members on the union Web site. "We've had to remove a significant number of irate posts off our Web site," he said. He and other union leaders said they had received about a dozen calls from disgruntled test-takers.

This year's tests were given June 2, and 50 lieutenants passed the captains' test and 140 firefighters passed the lieutenants' test. The Fire Department declined to make individuals' results available, saying they are "a personnel matter" and therefore confidential.