Teacher fined for rewarding pupils who bought homemade soap from him

A Brooklyn middle-school teacher was hit with a hefty fine for bribing his students with “no homework” passes - if they bought a bar of his homemade soap. The scheme, which netted PS 66 teacher Marlon Scanterbury a mere $24, cost him a $4,000 in fines levied by the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board.

The 43-year-old would have had to sell at least 1,000 family-made soap bars just to pay the fine and break even, but he sold roughly six bars at $3 or $4 a time, according to city documents. Scanterbury, who earns $81,000 annually in his 12th year as a teacher, was also cited for conducting private business on city time, gave some 11- and 12-year-olds who bought soap bars stickers that they could redeem for prizes from the school.



At the Canarsie school, families seem more exasperated than annoyed after learning about the scheme. “That is ridiculous - selling soap to kids. If it’s not one thing, it’s another,” said Shanquana Chin, 18, who was picking up her cousin. “It sounds like he’s trying to make a little profit.”

But students spoke highly of Scanterbury’s skills as a sixth-grade teacher, with one student calling him “fun.” “He’s the best teacher,” agreed another former student, who is now in the eighth grade. Principal Lucille Jackson did not comment.