It might have seemed like a natural fit.
Schools need supplies, and Elaine Baptiste, a secretary at a high school in Brooklyn, had a new husband in the supply business. So she ordered some supplies from the company he owned - $39,936.60 worth, including several thousand dollars in calculators, over the course of 10 months, beginning 13 days after her wedding in 2010, according to the New York City Conflicts of Interest Board and the Department of Education.
But Ms. Baptiste, who works for the School for Democracy and Leadership in East Flatbush, failed to seek competing bids on her purchases, she stated in a settlement document released on Wednesday. For this offense, Ms. Baptiste, who has worked for the school system for 29 years, was fined $6,500.
