Former District of Columbia Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson has been reprimanded by the D.C. Board of Ethics and Government Accountability for offering preferential treatment to at least seven parents who wanted their children to attended specific schools in the city.
Henderson, who resigned in June 2016, received the three-page reprimand last month that spelled out details of her violation of the city’s code of conduct.
Among those provided preferential treatment were Rashad Young, a key member of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s cabinet, a White House official and a DCPS principal — all of whom were allowed to choose the school they wanted their children to attend while other parents and their students adhered to a competitive lottery system.
It was unclear if Henderson, recently named a distinguished scholar-in-residence at Georgetown University, had done similar favors during her six-year tenure as chancellor.
When reportedly asked why she helped Young, who earns in excess of $200,000 annually, Henderson replied that D.C. officials “do not necessarily get paid as much as we should.”