Pratuhr was suspicious but Nod assured him the Sisterhood had authorized the sale to raise desperately needed funds but wanted to keep it quiet to hide their dire situation.
His paternal grandparents, a steward and a housekeeper, possessed even less status, having been servants, and Dickens later concealed their background.
Coffman says he wants to know whether district officials hid the budget shortage until after the November election, when voters approved a $212 million bond issue for schools.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education published a circular last week urging universities to crack down on academic misconduct and to report all the cases they uncover.