Boston school principal fined $4K for ticket misuse.

Two former Boston Public Schools officials were fined $4,000 for using school-donated tickets to take their sons to see "Hamilton."

In 2023, the Boston Educational Development Fund secured a dozen tickets for Tobin School students to see a performance of "Hamilton" at the Citizens Bank Opera House, along with tickets for two chaperones. These tickets, valued at around $149 each, were intended for students who would otherwise be unable to attend such a show, according to the Boston Herald.

Natasha Halfkenny and Coreen Miranda, former principals of the Boston Tobin School, were found guilty of violating the conflict of interest law by giving their sons tickets to an event they chaperoned. They paid a $4,000 civil penalty each for their actions. The law prohibits public employees from using their official positions to obtain privileges that are not available to them.

David Wilson, the State Ethics Commission Executive Director, stated in a Globe article that Halfkenny and Miranda violated the conflict of interest law by allocating three donated Hamilton tickets to their own sons, who were not Tobin School or BPS students, thereby denying three Tobin School students the chance to attend the show.

Wilson emphasized that public employees should not abuse their official positions to obtain undue privileges for themselves or others, and that there are legal repercussions for such actions.

"Instead of making the Hamilton show accessible to all Tobin students, Halfkenny and Miranda decided to invite a select group of nine eighth-grade students. However, at some point, they gave an additional ticket to Halfkenny's minor son, who was not a Tobin or Boston Public Schools student."

According to reports, Halfkenny is no longer employed at the Tobin School, while Miranda remains as an assistant principal.

Boston Public Schools declined to provide a comment to Planet Chronicle Digital.

During the height of "Hamilton"'s popularity in 2016, tickets were highly sought after and many theatergoers waited months to see Lin-Manuel Miranda portray the rapping Founding Father on stage. However, those who were unable to attend were able to experience the play when it began streaming on Disney+ in 2020. The play received critical acclaim, earning 11 Tonys and the Pulitzer Prize for drama.

In 2021, another of Miranda's Broadway productions, "In The Heights," was adapted into a movie musical. When asked about plans to give "Hamilton" a similar film treatment, he stated that he first needs to establish more separation from the play.

""The show's impact on me is still felt, both large and small, and it would require a visionary director to create a unique adaptation from the stage production," he said to Digital Spy."