GUEST BLOGGER
Hallie Ayres
Contributing Writer

“Bad Education,” one of HBO’s newest streaming releases, is a sobering reminder that crime doesn’t pay. The film is a dramatization of the largest school system embezzlement scandal in U.S. history, and it follows three key players: Dr. Frank Tassone (Hugh Jackman), the Roslyn school district superintendent; Pamela Gluckin (Allison Janney), the assistant superintendent and business administrator; and Rachel Bhargava (Geraldine Viswanathan), the intrepid student reporter who broke the story to the world.

Written by Mike Makowsky, a Roslyn Middle School student when Tassone was arrested on first-degree larceny charges in 2004, the film stays fairly true to the historical events. Tassone was a beloved superintendent under whose leadership the Long Island, NY, district soared. It was included on lists of the top 10 public schools in the country. After Pamela Gluckin’s son was discovered using Roslyn school district credit cards to purchase large quantities of construction materials at home improvement stores across Long Island, a school system auditor found that Gluckin and her son had charged nearly $250,000 in personal expenses to the district. Tassone argued for the district to keep the whole matter confidential, citing the inevitable media frenzy that would make Roslyn look unattractive to parents and college admissions officers, and could potentially decrease the area’s property values, on which the district depended for tax money. Gluckin was asked to resign quietly, while students were told she had become suddenly and gravely ill.

In reality, about a year after Gluckin’s resignation, an anonymous tipster sent a letter to local newspapers, the district attorney and members of the school board, urging them to investigate Tassone’s involvement in Gluckin’s embezzlement scheme. While the identity of the tipster has never surfaced, the letter did lead to the investigation that eventually revealed the entire scope of the scam. Gluckin had embezzled nearly $4.3 million, while Tassone had siphoned off close to $2.2 million. Gluckin’s son and niece were also indicted, as well as the district auditor, Andrew Miller, who faced charges for falsifying business records.

Makowsky’s film takes the liberty to dramatize the impetus of the investigation. In the film, a student reporter, Rachel Barghava, uncovers concerning charges while investigating expenditure records for a new construction project. Rachel’s character is based on Rebekah Rombom, one of the editors in chief of The Hilltop Beacon, Roslyn High School’s student newspaper that first covered the scandal, before it had even been picked up by major news outlets. In a piece Rombom later wrote for The New York Times about her experience reporting on the embezzlement, she noted, “It was not my goal or intention to create a situation of this magnitude in my own school district, and I certainly did not expect to supply a catalyst for such a huge ordeal. However, I believe it was inevitable that this story would have surfaced eventually. All we did was push it there a little faster.”

At one point in the movie, during the fictional Rachel’s steadfast determination to uncover the truth, she travels to New York City, where she encounters Tassone entering an apartment on the Upper East Side that had been listed as the address of a school contractor. A few scenes after this interaction, Tassone confronts Rachel outside Roslyn High School and attempts to dissuade her from publishing her investigative article. He intimidates her, warning of the collateral damage and the harm she would cause if she were to go public with her article. He continues, “This mistake, if you make it, we will not be able to protect you. Not me, not your teachers, because it’ll change everything and a lot of innocent people will get hurt, right?” In this particularly pertinent scene, the film illuminates the intense intimidation and scare tactics that are used to prevent whistleblowers from coming forward.

Both Gluckin and Tassone agreed to pay back the total amount of money they had stolen, a task that Tassone has since completed. Tassone faced 4-12 years in prison for larceny when he was sentenced in 2006, though he was released in 2010. Gluckin received a three- to nine-year sentence and was released in 2011, at which point she had paid back half of what she owed the district. Gluckin died in 2017, but according to an oversight in New York State pension law, Tassone will still receive a hefty sum of money for the rest of his life.

In a statement on a podcast, Tassone was apparently very anxious about the release of the film, saying, “I’m afraid of seeing myself portrayed as being a liar and a cheat and a thief — and I was a thief, no question.” Upon learning of Makowsky’s plans to adapt the story into a film, Tassone said, “I just crumbled. I thought, ‘My god, I thought this finally was over.’ It’ll never be over for me. Every day I feel pain.”

In regards to Makowsky’s decision to revisit the dramatic experience, he stressed the need to use the event as a way of opening up discussions, telling Vanity Fair, “I’m sure that there’s a segment of the community that would rather this thing just disappeared. But it feels like a story—to me, at least—that’s eminently worth telling. It’s a strange thing. How can you care so deeply about the students, education, and devote your whole life and career to this very noble profession...but at the same time, take in such an egregious way from the students, from the community, from the tax payers? … I’m still kind of hopeful for a greater dialogue.”

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