CHILD CARE SNARE
Staff baby-sat for principal
CITY OFFICIALS slapped a Bronx assistant principal with a $6,000 fine for using the public school where he works as his own private day care for his three kids.
Public School 33 assistant principal Leonardo Castro forced teaching aides who worked for him to baby-sit his three kids at the C-rated school nearly every morning throughout the 2011-12 academic year, according to papers made public by the city Conflicts of Interest Board Monday.
Castro, 38, of fP Paterson, t NJ N.J., forced his underlings to supervise his offspring in the school cafeteria and sometimes in classrooms.
The illicit child care situation was prompted by “baby-sitting issues” after Castro’s mother, who often watched the kids, died, he told investigators.
Castro also sought to solve his child-supervision troubles by putting his daughter in kindergarten classes at PS 33 without paying nonresident tuition for the girl, which would be required since he does not reside in the area served by the school.
He never officially enrolled the girl at his school to avoid raising suspicion, investigators said. The teacher in charge of the class with Castro’s daughter told investigators, “I was uncomfortable, but I was not going to say anything because she was a student, and he was my supervisor.”
The 15-year city educator also signed a bogus lease on a Bronx apartment ap owned ow by one of his subordinates n to make it look like he lived liv near the Fordham F school sc and he could co enroll the th girl in his school sc legitimately, m investigators ga said. The lease was $8 $800 for a basement apartment that was supposed to be inhabited by Castro and his daughter, but the two never moved in, investigators said.
A deposition published Monday shows Castro admitted to breaking the rules and agreed to pay the hefty fine to settle the case. He had a clean disciplinary record until now and will keep his $104,437-a-year job.
Castro refused to comment on the matter when he was reached on his cell phone by the Daily News on Monday. “Thank you for the call,” said Castro.