Former CPS Principal Took Kick-Backs On Unearned Overtime: Feds

LAKE VIEW, IL — A former Chicago Public Schools elementary school principal was arrested Wednesday and accused of running a scheme where employees would file for overtime they didn't work, giving the extra cash right back to her.

Sarah Jackson Abedelal was charged with 10 counts of wire fraud, a federal offense. Abedelal pleaded not guilty to the 7-year case, which accused her of receiving over $200,000.

According to the indictment, Abedelal ran a group of several administrative employees who helped her sign off on overtime for teachers and other school workers, saying the extra money they received would go towards paying expenses that would help the school. Instead, Abedelal is accused of using the money for her own purposes.

Abedelal, 57, was the principal of Brennemann Elementary School in the Buena Park neighborhood until 2019, when the CPS inspector general began investigating the extra charges. The assistant principal, clerk and business manager who prosecutors said aided in the scheme were not named in the indictment.

"If true, these charges represent a betrayal of trust unbecoming of any public servant, especially those who serve students and families," CPS said in a statement Wednesday. "This type of conduct has no place at Chicago Public Schools."

Abedelal conducted the operation for seven years from 2012 to 2019, prosecutors said. During that time, she had the employees withdraw the unearned overtime on the same day their paychecks were deposited and then met with them individually to collect the cash, the indictment alleged.

In addition to the charges, court records show prosecutors want Abedelal to give up her home in Woodlawn, which they said she used the overtime money to pay the mortgage on.

In 2017, Abedelal was on of 90 principals picked for CPS' Independent Schools Principal program, a program launched by former Mayor Rahm Emanuel which allows high-performing principals to run their schools with less oversight from central office.

Brennemann Elementary School serves about 400 pre-kindergarten to eighth grade students. Dr. Patrina Singleton currently serves as the school's interim principal.

Abedelal was released on her own recognizance after a bond hearing. Each count of write fraud carries up to 20 years in prison if the former principal is convicted.