Metro

NYC schools watchdog capacity reduced by low staff and budget constraints

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Published June 19, 2024, 5:32 p.m. ET

Mounting complaints about sexual misconduct, corruption and other potential wrongdoing in New York City public schools could pile up as the independent watchdog for the district struggles with budget constraints and staff shortages, advocates warned this week.

The Special Commissioner of Investigation (SCI) received a record number of more than 10,000 complaints in 2023 and is expected to end this year with similar numbers, it was revealed during a City Council hearing on Tuesday.

Of those complaints, only a small number led to investigations.

Last year, 400 investigations, including 152 involving sexual or inappropriate conduct, were concluded –less than half the percentage probed in 2015, according to the SCI.

Gale Brewer
Councilwoman Gale Brewer and chair of the Oversight and Investigations Committee argued that the Special Commissioner of Investigation (SCI) “needs more money.” Robert Miller

“Recent cases include a teacher who sought and receive paid sick leave while serving time in federal prison, a husband of a deceased pensioner who unlawfully collected $800,000 in benefits over 20 years” and a special education teacher who sent inappropriate text messages with a 17 year old student, noted Councilwoman Gale Brewer (D-Manhattan).

Brewer, chair of the Oversight and Investigations Committee, noted the importance of investigations into such cases as she argued the SCI “needs more money,” something echoed by the agency’s head.

“Obviously there is a great discrepancy between the operating budgets of the watchdog agency and the entity it is charged with overseeing,” SCI Commissioner, Anastasia Coleman said at the hearing held to examine the agency’s performance.

The office, funded by the state Education Department currently receives what Coleman described as a “slender budget” of $6.4 million that has been unchanged since 2020.

Coleman said SCI has been under growing strain, as its attrition rate has steadily increased to 23.5%.

“We must add more highly trained investigators, attorneys and administrative staff,” Coleman said.

The troubling data on SCI investigations followed a Post report uncovering a sex scandal at a Bronx school this week involving a pervy principal.

The city Department of Education (DOE) is investigating numerous “deeply disturbing” complaints from staff at DreamYard Prep high school against principal Anthony Santiago and assistant principal Maritza Vazquez.

Coleman
SCI Commissioner, Anastasia Coleman said that the group “must add more highly trained investigators, attorneys and administrative staff.”

When SCI uncovers systemic problems, it also makes recommendations to the DOE for policy changes.

Since 2020, SCI has made 215 policy and procedure recommendations.

Of that, the DOE accepted 49, partially accepted another five, claimed 60 were already their current practice and rejected 47 — while others remain pending.

So far, SCI has made eight recommendations in the first six months of this year and 34 total in 2023 — far less than the 64 made in 2020.