“NYC Educrats Abuse Funds, Take Own Kids to Disney Under Guise of Homeless Student Trips”

Misuse of Funds for Homeless Students

An inves­ti­ga­tion has uncov­ered a dis­turb­ing prac­tice by New York City Depart­ment of Edu­ca­tion (DOE) employees. 

Six staffers alleged­ly used “forged per­mis­sion slips” to take their own chil­dren and grand­chil­dren on trips fund­ed by a fed­er­al grant for home­less students.

Trips Meant for Homeless Students

The DOE-orga­nized trips, which includ­ed vis­its to Dis­ney World, Wash­ing­ton D.C., New Orleans, and oth­er des­ti­na­tions, were sup­posed to pro­vide enrich­ment and incen­tives for home­less students. 

How­ev­er, the staffers’ own fam­i­ly mem­bers took up valu­able spots on these excursions.

Cover-Up Attempts and Disciplinary Action

Lin­da M. Wil­son, a Queens super­vi­sor, encour­aged her col­leagues to bring their own chil­dren and grand­chil­dren on the trips, and alleged­ly told them to “stick to the same sto­ry” and lie to inves­ti­ga­tors when the scheme was uncov­ered. Sev­er­al employ­ees were fired or fined for their involve­ment in the scam.

Impact on Homeless Students

The abuse of these funds meant that some home­less stu­dents were denied the oppor­tu­ni­ty to expe­ri­ence the Mag­ic King­dom and oth­er edu­ca­tion­al trips.

One DOE edu­ca­tor had to beg Wil­son to allow two of his stu­dents to attend a Dis­ney World trip, while Wil­son and her staff brought their own fam­i­ly members.

This case high­lights the urgent need for greater account­abil­i­ty and over­sight in the use of pub­lic funds intend­ed to sup­port the city’s most vul­ner­a­ble students. 

The rev­e­la­tions have sparked out­rage and con­cerns about the mis­use of resources meant to ben­e­fit home­less youth.

Lack of Prosecution and Restitution

Despite the find­ings, the Spe­cial Com­mis­sion­er of Inves­ti­ga­tion decid­ed not to refer the cas­es for crim­i­nal pros­e­cu­tion, cit­ing a “lack of avail­able documentation.” 

The DOE has not dis­closed whether the employ­ees faced dis­ci­pli­nary action or were required to make restitution.