In a shocking revelation, six employees of the New York City Department of Education (DOE) stand accused of exploiting resources earmarked for homeless students to fund personal trips to Disney World.
The allegations, as reported by the New York Post, suggest that these employees utilized "forged permission slips" to divert funds intended for the city's most vulnerable students.
According to The Post Millennial, the total expenditure for the Disney World package deal amounted to $66,000, covering 50 adults and children. The accused DOE employees are also alleged to have embarked on a series of day trips between 2016 and 2019 to various locations including Washington, D.C., New Orleans, Boston, the Rocking Horse Ranch Resort in upstate New York, and the Frost Valley YMCA campground. These allegations were detailed in a report recently released by the Special Commissioner of Investigation for city schools.
Linda M. Wilson, a Queens supervisor of DOEs Students in Temporary Housing program, is among the accused. The report alleges that Wilson not only took her family on these trips but also encouraged her colleagues to do the same. However, when investigators approached her, she remained reticent.
The report further reveals that while some homeless students did participate in these trips, many were unable to do so as the slots were occupied by DOE employees and their families. One educator reportedly had to plead with Wilson to allow him to include two of his students on a Disney World trip, while Wilson and others allegedly secured their own spots.
Naveed Hasan, a Manhattan public-school parent and member of the citys Panel for Educational Policy who assists homeless students, expressed his shock at the allegations. "Taking money meant for homeless students is extremely inappropriate," Hasan said. The report underscores that such actions are in direct violation of all DOE policies and rules, regardless of whether the money is repaid.
The report also alleges that Wilson and other staff members used the names of homeless students to create counterfeit permission slips, even going as far as to forge the signatures of the students' parents. A whistleblower reportedly told investigators that "few of the homeless students listed on the paperwork actually attended the trips."
The funds for these trips were sourced from a $300,000 federal grant from the National Center for Homeless Education, intended to improve the lives and education of underprivileged children. Wilson supervised a team of 20 staff members working with students living in "temporary housing," such as emergency shelters, cars, parks, or abandoned buildings.
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