By Dan Murphy
For more than one year, Mount Vernon Public School Superintendent Waveline Bennett-Conroy, has been on paid leave, pending a federal investigation that includes accusations that Bennett-Conroy hired her son, Marlon Stevenson, to receive federal grant monies without providing any services to students.
Bennett-Conroy was placed on leave in the spring of 2023. At the same time two reports, one by an outside accounting firm, and the second by the State Education Department, both found no evidence that more than $7 Million in federal grants given to two companies, Wellcore and Just Inspire, were properly used to benefit students, and that the district did not seek competitive bids for the grants that went to Wellcore and Just Inspire.
Stevenson worked for both companies, in addition to his position with the Mount Vernon School District.
As the school district was preparing to go to Arbitration to try and terminate Bennett-Conroy, she sued the School District-
As part of that lawsuit, a termination document from the School Board became public. It outlines the numerous and serious accusations made against Bennett-Conroy.
Get a quote-: THE RESPONDENT MADE FALSE AND/OR INACCURATE AND/OR MISLEADING STATEMENTS AND/OR REPRESENTATIONS TO THE BOARD OF EDUCATION AND/OR COMMUNITY DURING A BOARD MEETING THAT OCCURRED IN OR ABOUT SEPTEMBER OF
The district wants to terminate Bennett-Conroy without pay. But there cannot be a employment hearing held while there is a pending lawsuit.
Waveline Bennett-Conroy, the suspended Mount Vernon school’s superintendent who remains under criminal investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice, is accused by the school district of leading a hostile work environment and lying about the oversight of federal grant money.
While some allegations against Bennett-Conroy have been previously reported, a fuller picture of the charges has come to light because of her recent legal action against the district, which seeks to delay disciplinary proceedings that could result in her ouster.
Bennett-Conroy is accused of making several false statements to the Board at several meetings held in 2022 about the grants, who had oversight, and where was the documentation.
“I can provide you with an itemized breakdown of the services, but we provide this to the State because the State does its audits on the grants. It’s just for you guys to approve it, but the state already approved and says this has to happen.
B. NYSED does not conduct audits of grants previously approved for local school Districts. Nor had NYSED audited the district’s grant funding usage and/or grants process prior to October of 2022.
C. The District did not have any legal obligation to continue its relationship with the identified vendor based upon the New York State Education Department’s (“NYSED”) approval of the applicable grant
D. The Respondent knew and/or should have known that said statement(s) and/or representation(s) were false and/or inaccurate and/or misleading.
Bennett-Conroy is also accused of lying the board when she said she had spoke to the NYS Education Commissioner and that “All of the state audits were clean.” She didn’t speak to the Commissioner and there were no clean audits.
It is interesting to note that Bennett-Conroy worked for the Mount Vernon School District for more than 15 years prior to becoming Superintendent.
Many in Mount Vernon are wondering why it is taking so long to charge anyone in the grant money scandal.
The current interim Superintendent is Dr. K. Veronica Smith, a graduate of Mount Vernon High School and a 23 employee in the Mount Vernon School District. She was appointed in February of 2023. Bennett-Conroy continues to earn a salary in excess of $250,000 per year.
