What should have been routine after-school bookkeeping at P.S. 146, the Brooklyn New School in Carroll Gardens, has turned into a criminal case involving six years of alleged theft and more than $111,000 in missing funds.
Prosecutors say the former after-school director, 37-year-old Shalisha Jackson of Short Hills, New Jersey, siphoned off money meant for the program and routed it into her own accounts. Jackson was arraigned on Monday in Brooklyn Supreme Court and released without bail, with a return date set for August 12, 2026.
Allegations and Timeline
According to the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office, Jackson is accused of writing 153 checks from the after-school program account to herself between June 4, 2018 and October 9, 2024, totaling about $77,000. Prosecutors also allege she deposited roughly 104 checks and Zelle payments that parents intended for the program into her personal bank account, about $33,000, bringing the combined total of the alleged theft to approximately $111,000.
Investigators say the money did not go toward kids’ activities or classroom supplies. Instead, they allege it was spent on hotel stays, liquor-store purchases, payments to a real-estate company that focuses on luxury properties, auto finance payments and various online shopping transactions. The indictment charges Jackson with second-degree grand larceny, third-degree grand larceny, petit larceny, second-degree forgery and second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument.
How Investigators Say the Scheme Was Uncovered
The case reportedly cracked open in October 2022, when Department of Education officials noticed two questionable checks from M.S. 681 in Bedford-Stuyvesant that had shown up in Jackson’s personal bank account. That red flag triggered a deeper probe by the Special Commissioner of Investigation, which uncovered what authorities describe as a broader pattern of misconduct and weak financial controls, as reported by the Brooklyn Eagle.
Special Commissioner Anastasia Coleman said the episode “demonstrates the critical role independent oversight plays in protecting school resources,” according to the outlet, a not-so-subtle reminder that watchdogs are often the only thing standing between school funds and personal piggy banks.
Charges, Arraignment and Next Steps
Jackson appeared before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun for her arraignment and was released without bail. Prosecutors say she is required to return to court on August 12, 2026. The Brooklyn District Attorney’s Public Integrity Bureau is handling the case.
Officials have emphasized that the indictment is an accusatory instrument rather than proof of guilt, a procedural point that carries extra weight in a case that touches kids, parents and school staff, according to the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office. Investigators publicly thanked financial-review teams from both the DA’s office and the Special Commissioner’s Office for their work on the probe.
Why It Matters
The indictment lands amid a run of cases involving allegedly stolen education and childcare funds across New York City and underscores how gaps in oversight can let money quietly bleed out of programs for years. In March, federal prosecutors accused the director of a Brooklyn daycare of embezzling nearly $2.75 million, a reminder that these losses can range from tens of thousands of dollars to eye-popping multi-million-dollar sums, as reported by FOX 5 New York.
Parents, educators and school advocates will be watching to see whether prosecutors can recover any of the allegedly stolen funds and whether this case pushes the city to tighten financial controls on after-school and childcare accounts. For families who count on these programs, trust in how every dollar is handled is suddenly front and center.
