I think this is just awful...
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/bronx/2008/02/10/2008-02-10_principal_skirts_rules_for_playgrounds.html?page=0
They knew they were breaking the rules. They admitted as much to investigators. But a Bronx principal and his business manager were so determined to give their kids a safe place to play after years of getting "the runaround" from school officials that they secretly hired a contractor to build three new playgrounds, then hid the expenses in their school budget. Principal John Hughes and business manager Larry Dombrow were both disciplined when an auditor noticed that someone at Public School 48 funneled money in increments less than $500 into a petty cash fund. "There are Department of Education standard operating procedures, which were not followed," said schools spokeswoman Margie Feinberg. Supporters say their indiscretions were a necessary shortcut in a city where the bureaucracy doesn't always respond to the needs of schools in neighborhoods like Hunts Point in the South Bronx. "He got fired up," parent leader Arshel Brown said of Hughes. "If we had more people like Mr. Hughes, we'd all be on the ball." Playgrounds are a scarce commodity in New York. A 2003 City Council study found that half of the city's nearly 800 elementary schools had no playground at all. "Kids need playgrounds to get outside, to be active, to interact with each other in a positive way," said Andrea Wenner, who in 2005 founded a group called Out2Play that helps finance and build school playgrounds. The corroded metal on the existing PS 48 playground often gashed little hands. The shredded rubber mats - so worn that kids tripped on protruding bolts - barely cushioned their falls...
They knew they were breaking the rules. They admitted as much to investigators.
But a Bronx principal and his business manager were so determined to give their kids a safe place to play after years of getting "the runaround" from school officials that they secretly hired a contractor to build three new playgrounds, then hid the expenses in their school budget.
Principal John Hughes and business manager Larry Dombrow were both disciplined when an auditor noticed that someone at Public School 48 funneled money in increments less than $500 into a petty cash fund.
"There are Department of Education standard operating procedures, which were not followed," said schools spokeswoman Margie Feinberg.
Supporters say their indiscretions were a necessary shortcut in a city where the bureaucracy doesn't always respond to the needs of schools in neighborhoods like Hunts Point in the South Bronx.
"He got fired up," parent leader Arshel Brown said of Hughes. "If we had more people like Mr. Hughes, we'd all be on the ball."
Playgrounds are a scarce commodity in New York. A 2003 City Council study found that half of the city's nearly 800 elementary schools had no playground at all.
"Kids need playgrounds to get outside, to be active, to interact with each other in a positive way," said Andrea Wenner, who in 2005 founded a group called Out2Play that helps finance and build school playgrounds.
The corroded metal on the existing PS 48 playground often gashed little hands. The shredded rubber mats - so worn that kids tripped on protruding bolts - barely cushioned their falls...