[LOHUD] Eight Peekskill High School students didn't graduate in June and must return to school this month because they were given credit for a class that doesn't exist.Other students had to attend summer school to graduate, said interim schools Superintendent Larry Licopoli, but he didn't have a number.
And The Journal News has obtained records that show then-Superintendent James Willis ordered four guidance counselors suspected of handing out credits for phony courses to turn over information "inappropriately deleted" from an online system containing student data.
They're among the latest developments in the transcript scandal that began unfolding in January, when school officials said at least 34 seniors received credits for classes that didn't exist. Many received credit for a "co-op" class, which officials said appeared to be a legitimate work-experience course discontinued years ago. The four guidance counselors were reassigned amid suspicion of misconduct.
The high school's social studies chairwoman, 53-year-old Allison Risoli of Peekskill, is facing criminal charges, accused of altering answers on Regents examinations at least two weeks after the reassignment of the guidance counselors. She is on paid leave.