New York City Department of Education employees are accused of using city funds for family outings

A New York City Department of Education manager and five other employees brought their own families to Disney World and participated in other outings using city funds intended for homeless students, a report said.

The New York Post first reported that the Special Commissioner of Investigation (SCI) for New York City schools alleges that staff actions deprived disadvantaged children of the opportunity to visit the Magic Kingdom and take other trips to Washington, DC, New Orleans, Boston, the Rocking Horse Ranch Resort in upstate New York, and the Frost Valley YMCA campground between 2016 and 2019.

Linda Wilson, regional director of the New York City Department of Education’s Queens Students in Temporary Housing program, took her two daughters on city-funded trips while encouraging her colleagues to do the same with their families, according to the SCI report released this month.

While some students did go on these trips, investigators alleged that the spots were taken by family members of employees. DOE rules state that employees are not allowed to bring their family members on trips, even if the DOE is compensated for it.

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Wilson and five other employees allegedly took their own families on trips designed for homeless students, one of which took them to Disney World. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images, file)

Wilson allegedly circumvented the regulations by “forging consent forms in the names of students,” the report said.

Wilson planned some of these trips in the belief that the students would attend colleges, the report said. But instead of visiting the schools, Wilson took other destinations, according to the investigation.

The trips, funded by the city, were intended for disadvantaged students. (iStock)

On one of these trips in June 2018, Wilson allegedly visited Syracuse University with students. However, the university stated that Wilson never toured the university. The subsequent investigation revealed that Wilson instead took a side trip to Niagara Falls.

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In 2018, Wilson learned that someone else at the DOE had informed her actions, the report said, and she canceled a visit to Philadelphia. She then reportedly told her colleagues, “What happens here stays with us.”

Investigators allege Wilson forged permits with students’ names on them so she and other colleagues could bring their own families on the trips. (iStock)

Workers blamed Wilson for telling employees they could bring their families on these trips. One employee told The Washington Post that Wilson instructed them to “lie to investigators.”

“She said everyone should stick to the story that we didn’t take our children with us on the trip,” said the employee.

Other Students in Temporary Housing staff members accused of bringing family members on these trips include Program Manager Shaquieta Boyd, Family Assistant Joanne Castro, Family Assistant Mishawn Jack, Family Assistant Virgen Ramos and Community Coordinator Maria Sylvester.

The SCI completed its investigation in January 2023 and recommended that Chancellor of the Exchequer David Bank terminate all six employees and pay compensation to the DOE.

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In these cases, no criminal prosecution was carried out due to “lack of documentation,” an SCI spokesman told the newspaper.