Here’s a test for the mayoral candidates: Who will promise to crack down on corruption in the public schools by beefing up the Special Commissioner of Investigation?
As The Post’s Susan Edelman reports, complaints of misconduct by city school employees have “skyrocketed” — but the SCI probes an ever-smaller share of them.
Last year, it was just 484 investigations, against a record 11,874 complaints, a pathetic 4% rate and down from 7.2% in 2019.
Then again, the SCI’s budget is just $6.3 million to monitor the $39 billion Department of Education budget — and the watchdog hasn’t seen a budget increase in five years, so it’s losing ground to inflation.
Plus, even when SCI finds proof of wrongdoing, DOE functionaries settle things as quietly as possible, often with sweetheart deals that spare wrongdoers any real punishment — not only keeping them on the payroll but preserving their vacations,…
