By Rich Bockmann
City Councilman Donovan Richards (D-Laurelton) called on the city Department of Education to fire the principal of Far Rockaway’s PS 106 after a city investigation concluded the school administrator cashed a full pay check while frequently showing up to work either late or not at all.
“It was important to do a thorough investigation into conditions at PS 106 before reacting to the allegations against the school,” Richards said Wednesday about numerous allegations raised earlier this year about Marcella Sills, principal at the Far Rockaway elementary school at 180 Beach 35th St.
“The investigation has concluded and now is the time for action. Our children deserve faculty who try their hardest every day to prepare our youth to compete both locally and internationally, and it seems the administration was not living up to that standard,” Richards added. “Those in charge must be held accountable and need to be removed.”
A report released Tuesday by Richard Condon, special commissioner of investigation for the New York City school district, concluded that Sills routinely showed up to work hours late and did not keep proper records, then told subordinates at the school to fill out phony timecards.
“It is the recommendation of this office that Marcella Sills’s employment be terminated, that she be made ineligible for work with the DOE, and that this matter be considered should she apply for any position in the New York City school system, with one of its vendors, or in one of its facilities, in the future,” Condon’s report said.
Reach reporter Rich Bockmann by e-mail at rbockmann@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4574.
