Wyandanch High School principal Paul Sibblies used student club funds for $126 steak and lobster dinner, teachers' gifts: audit

Investigators are looking into spending practices in the Wyandanch school district after an audit found its high school principal used money meant for a student club to pay for a $126 steak and lobster dinner, buy gifts for teachers and purchase equipment for the high school.

The audit, completed in February 2025, was not made public until last month, according to board trustee Jarod Morris. The school board voted unanimously, with one member absent, in November to appoint Capital Region BOCES as legal counsel to investigate the financial concerns identified in the audit. That investigation is ongoing, Morris said.

The findings from the audit report, Morris said, were “troubling.”

“We know what is personal and what is for the sake of students,” he said. “A steak and lobster dinner in Delaware is personal.”

Paul Sibblies, who has been principal of Wyandanch Memorial High School since 2009, referred questions to the superintendent when reached by phone Thursday. He said in a follow-up email that the meal was "school related" but did not elaborate. He did not answer further questions about the audit's findings. 

Larry Aronstein, who was interim superintendent when the audit came out, said of the payments flagged in the audit, “According to Mr. Sibblies, he was paying himself back for money that he had laid out."

Aronstein, who oversaw the district for about a year, said he found the principal “exemplary” in his job.

"I know his character," Aronstein said. "And for whatever that's worth, I think he's a good man.”

Erik Wright, who took over as superintendent in June, wrote in a statement that the district does not comment on personnel matters. He said a policy on how to handle the extraclassroom activity fund was in place prior to 2021 and updated during that year.

"The district is continually reviewing policies and protocols, and we have begun implementing strengthened financial oversight measures," his statement read. "The district declines further comment at this time."

Oversight concerns

Sibblies had served as the faculty adviser to the high school's Kappa League, a youth service initiative of Kappa Alpha Psi, a nationally-known fraternity.

The Kappa group was open to 10th to 12th graders and met every other Sunday at the high school, Newsday previously reported. Students learned about financial literacy and college and career readiness and played chess to build camaraderie.

One major activity for the group was a spring trip to Ghana. Students visited sites that housed enslaved people in dungeons before they were put on ships to other countries to be sold. The group also tried local food and visited the beach, the rainforest and a market. Some students described the trip as “life changing.”

Sibblies' supervision of the trip was put into question in 2023 when two students, 15 and 17 at the time, were prevented from reentering the United States due to problems with their travel documents. The teens and Sibblies, who stayed behind with them, arrived home days later after Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and others worked to facilitate their return.

The Kappa club was never approved by the school board, even though they signed off on the Ghana trip. And in the February 2025 report by Islandia-based R.S. Abrams & Co. LLP, auditors raised questions about expenses reimbursed through the club's account.

Among the items flagged was an August 2024 meal for the principal and an unidentified person under the description of “EOY Academic Success.” Sibblies reimbursed himself for the $126 steak and lobster dinner, with alcohol, at a Delaware restaurant.

From the audit period of July 2021 through November 2024, auditors found Sibblies received 41 reimbursement checks, totaling $35,519.

On some reimbursements Sibblies issued to himself, the auditors said they were “unable to determine the appropriateness" of those expenses.

“The lack of sufficient documentation and oversight raises concerns regarding the proper use of ECAF resources,” they wrote, using an acronym for extraclassroom activity fund.

The auditors also identified other practices that raised concerns: Sibblies handled cash, approved disbursements and signed off on checks for club activities. He also issued reimbursement checks to himself without independent review or approval from anyone other than his secretary, who served as the club’s treasurer.

“This lack of additional outside oversight raises significant concerns regarding the financial accountability and internal controls,” the auditors wrote.

State guidelines said the authority to expend money “shall be distinct and separate” from the custody of those funds. A board-appointed central treasurer should have custody of club funds and checks should be signed by the central treasurer upon receipt of a payment order signed by the student activity treasurer and faculty adviser.

Jet Ski rental, staff BBQ questioned

While much of the report focused on Sibblies and his involvement with the Kappa club, auditors also cited other questionable expenses related to the district's extraclassroom activity fund accounts. These included items such as “End of Year Party” and “Staff Faculty Party” for the middle school held at a local restaurant that included access to an open bar, according to the report. These events were paid out of the funds for the Kappa club and the MLO club in the middle school, the report said.

The auditors also questioned expenses for “Yearbook 2023 Stipend,” “WMHS Staff BBQ” and “Reimbursement for Jet Ski Rental — Bermuda Trip." Those expenses were all deemed by auditors as improper use of the extraclassroom activity fund under state guidelines.

Auditors also noted a lack of or insufficient record-keeping. Months of records were missing and paperwork detailing the number of students who attended field trips, parent permission slips and overall cost per student were not retained. There also lacked proper documentation for much of the donations to the clubs, which added up to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Auditors said the Kappa and MLO clubs received outside donations totaling $505,349 and about $159,838 appeared to relate to the Ghana trip in 2022-23. 

The auditors noted the MLO club, which was also not board-approved, had no student officers and its club activities and financial matters were handled by the middle school principal, who resigned in September 2024 following his arrest over a non-school-related violation.

Kappa club closed

The auditors said a former interim assistant superintendent for business, whose name was redacted in the report, instructed Sibblies to cease operations and transfer the club’s funds to another approved club. The principal did not comply with that directive and continued to operate Kappa, the report said.

But after the audit findings were presented to the school board last year, Aronstein said Sibblies notified the board that he would take the club out of the district. 

A November letter to the board from the same accounting firm said the district closed the Kappa club on April 28, 2025, and noted several fund transfers from Kappa to other clubs.

School board president Latesha Walker did not respond to a request for comment.

Sibblies — whose salary was $200,385 in 2024-25 — has come under fire in the past. In 2021, a former Wyandanch high school teacher accused Sibblies of sexual harassment. A judge later dismissed the claims, noting both “engaged in sexually charged banter.” 

That same year, Sibblies was put on administrative leave over reportedly breaking up a fight between two female students. He was reinstated a month later after an internal investigation.

Aronstein defended Sibblies, whom he said worked hard to expand his students’ horizons and offer them experiences they otherwise wouldn’t have.

“He runs a very good school and is committed to providing his students enrichment experiences that they can have going beyond the borders of Wyandanch,” Aronstein said. “He tries to expose them in terms of the arts and travel and [give] them a wider view of not only their community but a look at the rest of the world.”

By Dandan Zou

dandan.zou@newsday.com@DandanZou

Dandan Zou covers education for Newsday. Previously, she worked for a community newspaper in Maryland and a personal finance magazine in Washington, D.C.