Topline: A New York City elementary school principal used at least $120,000 in taxpayer funds to hire her rich friends as consultants and buy their books, clothing and more for students, according to the New York Post.

Aneesha Jacko of PS 35 Nathaniel Woodhull in Queens has not been accused of criminal wrongdoing, but the Special Commissioner of Investigation for city schools told the Post they have been reviewing complaints against her for three years.

Jacko made $181,235 in 2024, per Open the Books’ database.

Key facts: Jacko’s purchases included $61,000 for an absurd 1,285 copies of books written by Brianna Greenspan. PS 35 only has 584 students.

The order included 630 copies of a coloring book called “The Miracle Morning Art of Affirmations.” One teacher told the Post, “She hardly buys any other books for children to read.”

Instagram photos show Jacko and Greenspan together in their free time, taking trips to the hair salon and more.

Photos also show Jacko visiting the LegoLand theme park and a birthday party with Damon Dash, a music executive who used to manage Jay-Z.

Records reviewed by the Post show Jacko spent $10,000 in school funds on clothing from Dash’s apparel company in 2022. She also posted online about a “paid partnership” between her school, the clothing company and Dash’s music business, Dame Dash Studios.

Dash filed for bankruptcy last year with almost $9 million in unpaid taxes. He told the Post he lost money on the $10,000 clothing sale and denied that he has a paid partnership with PS 35.

Dash’s wife, Raquel Horn, got in on the action when Jacko bought 500 copies of her picture book “Dusko Goes to Sea.” That was according to insiders interviewed by the Post, though official documents could not be obtained.

Another $49,100 went to Dennis McKesey and his consulting company In Our Best Interest. Instagram photos show a friendship between McKesey and Jacko, but it’s unclear what his role at the school was. One teacher told the Post, “Nobody knew what the hell he did for us. There were no visible signs that this man was helping our school in any way. He was hardly ever there.”

Search all federal, state and local salaries and vendor spending with the world’s largest government spending database at . 

Supporting quote: Dash defended Jacko’s purchases in an interview with the Post.

“There’s a budget for them to buy books. So why is it a problem?” Dash asked. “I think it’s a racist thing that she’s even being looked at and scrutinized. It’s just because she’s a Black woman that has good reading scores for her kids and gets more for her money. She’s trying to help these kids learn how to read.”

Summary: Students should be the ones making new friends at an elementary school, not their principal in charge of the budget.

The #WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com

This article was originally published by RealClearInvestigations and made available via RealClearWire.