Amsterdam school principal awarded €1 million in contracts to family's businesses

Between 2023 and 2026, the principal of the Oranje Nassau School in Amsterdam-Noord awarded at least €976,943 in contracts to businesses owned by her daughter and son-in-law, Parool reported, based on invoices and internal documents obtained. Employees of the school question whether all the billed activities were actually carried out.

The invoices came from companies owned by the two family members of principal Audrey Rajcomar. The majority of the funds were for after-school activities for the school’s approximately 270 pupils. Other charges included holiday programs, language and spoken-word classes, Christmas and summer packages for pupils, and materials for after-school activities.

Internal documents in Parool’s possession indicate that staff members doubt whether some of the invoiced activities - primarily holiday activities - actually took place. According to the staff, no one can confirm this.

The newspaper reached out to principal Rajcomar, who referred it to Amos, the governing board of the Oranje Nassau School and 25 other primary schools in Amsterdam.

Hiring family-owned businesses is “unfortunate,” Amos board member Jonne Gaemers told Parool. “It is undesirable to do business with family members. We told Audrey that this must stop immediately.”

Amos investigated the school’s invoices spanning 2023 to 2026 after receiving a report regarding contracts issued to the director’s family in April. An external controller was also brought in. No irregularities were found, Amos said. It also has no indications that some of the paid-for activities were not carried out.

“At the time, we had not detected any irregularities,” Gaemers told the newspaper. "We tried to determine whether the activities had actually been performed. Of course, that is difficult to do in retrospect. When looking back a year or two, it is very hard to substantiate whether the activities actually took place."

Gaemers said Amos would also “tighten” its code of integrity and the “internal safeguards regarding the awarding of contracts and separation of duties.”

According to Parool, the most recent amount paid to one of Rajcomar’s family members was in May 2026.