Principal in hot water over allegedly missing money, assault

A Queens Village principal is facing the prospect of losing his job and possible criminal charges after a Department of Education (DOE) investigation found he could not account for $30,000 in missing school funds and that he allegedly assaulted a student.
An investigation by Richard Condon, Special Commissioner of Investigation for the DOE, said I.S. 109 principal Shango Blake should be terminated and barred from working for the DOE again.
“Blake’s financial mismanagement and inappropriate conduct makes it clear that he has no place in a New York City public school,” Condon wrote in his report on the investigation.
DOE spokesperson Dina Paul-Parks said the department was moving to terminate Blake, but that it is a lengthily process. Parks said Blake has been removed from the school.
“It’s very disappointing when people don’t live up to the standards,” Parks said.
Parks said the DOE should name a replacement principal soon, but there is no timetable for finding a permanent replacement.
Repeated phone messages to numbers believed to belong to members of the I.S. 109 PTA were not returned.
The investigation found that most of the mismanaged money was collected from students and parents to be used for school lunches, snack sales, and graduation expenses. The money gathered from May 2005 to June 2006 was “misused or missing,” according to the report.
Blake was not able to say what happened to the funds or how the debt was paid off when the school had a negative balance in its bank account, according to the report. The report also states that the school wrote over $14,000 in bad checks.
Eventually, the debts were paid by other sources, according to the report. But Condon wrote, “[it] in no way explains what happened to the monies collected from parents and students.”
Parks said that there were no plans for new rules or procedures as a result of this case.
The investigation also addressed the accusations against Blake that he punched and choked a student who allegedly said something about Blake’s son.
The unidentified student said the “F” word on a microphone during lunch and was called into Blake’s office to discuss the situation. The student then uttered a remark while leaving the office — the exact phrase is disputed — causing Blake to confront the student in the office’s conference room.
It was there that Blake allegedly threatened the student, choked him and punched him in the chest, according to the report. The student then exited the office and secretary Linette Edwards said she noticed marks on the boy’s neck.
The report was passed along to the Queens District Attorney, who has not decided if criminal action will be taken.