The New York City Department of Education manager and five other employees reportedly took families to Disney World and other field trips using city funds intended for homeless students.
of New York Post The New York City Schools Special Commissioner for Investigative Studies (SCI) first reported that the employees' actions allegedly denied underprivileged children trips to the Magic Kingdom, Washington, D.C., New Orleans, Boston, Rocking Horse Ranch Resort in upstate New York and Frost Valley YMCA Campground between 2016 and 2019.
According to an SCI report released this month, Linda Wilson, a regional manager for students in temporary housing in Queens for the New York City Department of Education, took her two daughters on a city-funded field trip and encouraged her colleagues to do the same with their families.
Some students were also on those trips, but the seats were occupied by family members of the staff, investigators allege. Department of Education rules state that staff cannot bring family members on trips, even if the department covers the expenses.
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Wilson and five other employees allegedly took their families on trips for homeless students, one of which included a trip to Disney World. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images, File)
According to the report, Wilson is accused of circumventing the rules by “falsifying permission slips in students' names.”
According to the report, Wilson planned some of these trips under the assumption that the students would be visiting colleges. An investigation revealed that instead of visiting colleges, Wilson traveled to other destinations.
The city-funded trip was aimed at underprivileged students. (iStock)
During the June 2018 trip, Wilson was allegedly visiting Syracuse University with students, but the university denied Wilson ever touring the campus, and a subsequent investigation revealed that Wilson instead took a detour to Niagara Falls.
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In 2018, Wilson canceled a trip to Philadelphia after learning someone at the Department of Energy had leaked information about their actions to other employees, according to the report. Afterward, Wilson allegedly told colleagues, “We are responsible for what happened here.”
Investigators allege Wilson forged permits with students' names on them so he and other coworkers could bring their families on trips. (iStock)
Employees have accused Wilson of telling staff they could bring their families on these trips, with one employee telling The Washington Post that Wilson instructed them “to lie to investigators.”
“She said we should stick to the same story to everyone, that we didn't take our kids on the trip,” the employee said.
Other transitional housing student staff members accused of bringing families on these trips include Program Manager Shaquieta Boyd, Family Assistant Joan Castro, Family Assistant Michonne Jack, Family Assistant Virgen Ramos and Community Coordinator Maria Sylvester.
SCI completed its investigation in January 2023 and recommended to Finance Minister David Banke that all six employees be fired and that the DOE pay compensation.
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An SCI spokesman told the paper that the cases had not been subject to criminal prosecution due to a “lack of available documentation.”
