Brooklyn NYC Dept of Education Employee Investigated By SCI: Accused of Stealing $111K Intended For After-School Programs

New York, NY – Special Commissioner of Investigation for the New York City School District (SCI) Anastasia Coleman announced that a SCI investigation led to the indictment of a former New York City Department of Education (DOE) paraprofessional and after-school program director, accused of stealing more than $111,000 intended for school programs and students.

“This case demonstrates the critical role independent oversight plays in protecting school resources,” said Special Commissioner Anastasia Coleman. “SCI’s investigation uncovered a years-long pattern of misconduct that allegedly diverted funds intended for students and exposed significant breakdowns in financial oversight. We will continue aggressively investigating fraud, theft, and corruption to ensure that resources dedicated to our schools reach the children they are intended to serve, and we thank the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office for its work in pursuing this prosecution.”

The defendant, Shalisha Jackson, began working for the Department of Education in 2008 and served as the director of the after-school program at P.S. 146, also known as the Brooklyn New School. SCI’s investigation found that, over a period of six years, Jackson improperly deposited funds intended for the school’s after-school program into her personal bank account and issued checks to herself from the program’s account in violation of DOE financial procedures. The investigation determined that funds intended to support students and school programming were instead used for personal expenses.

SCI’s investigation began in October 2022, after DOE officials reported that two suspicious checks from the bank account of M.S. 681 in Brooklyn had been deposited into Jackson’s personal bank account. Although those checks originated from a different school, investigators’ review of financial records ultimately uncovered a broader pattern of alleged misconduct involving the P.S. 146 after-school program, where Jackson served as director. The investigation revealed years of unauthorized transactions involving checks, parent payments, and other funds intended for school programming that were instead deposited into Jackson’s personal account.

SCI investigators determined that approximately $135,121 was deposited into Jackson’s personal account through checks written to herself and funds intended for the after-school program. Of that amount, only approximately $5,882 was used for legitimate program expenses, leaving more than $129,000 intended for students and school programming diverted from its intended purpose. The investigation further found that significant failures in financial oversight allowed the misconduct to continue undetected for years.

SCI substantiated that Jackson violated numerous DOE financial procedures governing the handling of school funds, including issuing checks to herself from the P.S. 146 account and depositing after-school program funds into her personal bank account. The investigation also found significant failures in financial oversight by current and former school administrators, which allowed the misconduct to continue for years. As a result, SCI recommended reforms to strengthen fiscal controls, training requirements, and accountability measures for employees responsible for managing school funds.

SCI referred its findings to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office for criminal prosecution.

The defendant was arraigned on Monday on charges including grand larceny, petit larceny, forgery, and criminal possession of a forged instrument.

An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.

Established in 1990, SCI is the independent watchdog that investigates fraud, corruption, misconduct, and other illegal, unethical or improper activities by officials, employees, contractors, and vendors doing business with New York City’s School District, the Department of Education, the Teachers’ Retirement System, and the Board of Education Retirement System. For more information on SCI, visit: www.nycsci.org.