Misspelled School Sign Draws Criticism

(NewsCore) - A misspelled road marking outside a New York City school has gone unreported for months.

The words -- "SHCOOL X-NG" -- plastered on Stanton Street outside a Lower East Side high school have prompted jeers from the community.

"It's embarrassing for the city!" laughed Luis Maldonado, 50, a maintenance worker in the area. "Teaching kids to read and write correctly is very important!"

The misspelling appears right outside Marta Valle HS, on a portion of the street where workers apparently cut into the asphalt to get to underground utility lines.

"It's sad," said Derek Pacheco, a Flushing securities-industry worker who passes by on his way to work. "It speaks volumes about the dumbing down of American culture."

Residents in the area said construction crews worked on the street over the summer.

When utilities or contractors perform work on a city street, they are responsible for restoring it correctly and reinstalling all markings, a city official told the Post.

Locals and commuters passing by are stunned that students or administrators at the school haven't noticed the blunder.

Marta Valle officials couldn't be reached, but the school's PTA president, Linda Surles, wasn't surprised that no one has reported the mistake.

"Nothing surprises me any more at this school," she said. "What's ironic is that the principal has probably painted the lunchroom and rooms inside over about five times since 2010.

"She's probably spent $100,000 in paint doing and redoing the inside of the school, but she doesn't notice this right outside her door!"

A Department of Transportation spokesman insisted late yesterday that the spelling error was made by a utility provider -- and not the city or any of its contractors -- following work performed on Stanton Street.

"We are contacting them to correct the error promptly," the DOT spokesman said.