NEW ROCHELLE, NY — Sonya Nunez, up until last week the Principal at Columbus Elementary School in New Rochelle, wrote checks to herself from an off-the-books checking account set up ostensibly as a student activities fund, sources tell Talk of the Sound.
Funds in the account include money raised through various school fundraisers, sources say.
Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Joseph WIlliams is conducting an investigation into financial improprieties which includes a review of improper disbursements from the illegally established account totaling more than $5,000. The funds were taken from the account by Nunez who wrote checks for her own benefit over the course of 2016, sources say.
“There is an ongoing investigation,” said Schools Superintendent Dr. Brian Osborne. “At the conclusion of the investigation, appropriate action will be taken.”
If a criminal complaint is filed by the district, Nunez could be facing numerous charges including felony grand larceny and falsifying business records.
A 2008 audit of the school district by the New York State Comptroller cited the district for slipshod handling of school-level petty cash funds including failure to require two different signatures on a check.