A New York City Department of Education manager and five other employees brought their own family to Disney World and on other excursions with city funds meant for homeless students, according to a report.
The New York Post first reported that the Special Commissioner of Investigation (SCI) for New York City schools alleges the workers’ actions robbed disadvantaged children of the opportunity to go to the Magic Kingdom and on other trips to Washington, D.C., New Orleans, Boston, Rocking Horse Ranch Resort in upstate New York and Frost Valley YMCA campground between 2016 and 2019.
Linda Wilson, the regional manager for the NYC Department of Education’s Queens Students in Temporary Housing, took her two daughters on city-funded excursions while encouraging her colleagues to do the same with their families, according to the SCI report released this month.
While some students were brought on these trips, investigators alleged that spots were taken up by the employees’ family members. DOE rules state that employees cannot bring family on trips even if the DOE is reimbursed.
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Wilson allegedly skirted the rules by "forging permission slips in the names of students," the report said.
Wilson scheduled some of these trips under the belief that students would be visiting colleges, according to the report. Instead of visiting the schools, the investigation found that Wilson would take trips to other destinations.
On one such trip in June 2018, Wilson allegedly went with students to visit Syracuse University. But the university said that Wilson never toured the school. The subsequent investigation alleged that Wilson instead took a detour to Niagara Falls.
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In 2018, Wilson learned that someone told others within the DOE of their actions, the report says, prompting her to cancel a visit to Philadelphia. She then allegedly told her colleagues, "What happens here stays with us."
Workers have blamed Wilson for telling staff that they could bring family on these trips, with one employee telling the Post that Wilson instructed them "to lie to investigators."
"She said everyone should stick to the same story that we did not take our children on the trip," the employee said.
The other Students in Temporary Housing workers 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 probe in January 2023 and recommended to Chancellor David Bank that all six employees be terminated and pay restitution to the DOE.
The cases were not referred for criminal prosecution due to "the lack of available documentation," an SCI spokesperson told the newspaper.
