The Real Pam Gluckin From ‘Bad Education’ Served 5 Years For Her Crimes

In HBO's new film Bad Education, which premieres on April 25, Academy Award winner Allison Janney plays a woman named Pam Gluckin, a former business administrator for the Roslyn School District on Long Island, New York. Per the film, Gluckin stole millions from her school district and spent it on luxurious vacations, jewelry, mortgage payments, and even her daughter's college tuition. Gluckin went to jail for her crimes and upon her release began working for a non-profit, according to Newsday. And according to HBO, Gluckin died in 2017.

Bad Education focuses on Gluckin's life in the early 2000s. Janney co-stars with Hugh Jackman, who plays Frank Tassone, the former Roslyn School District superintendent. Together, Tassone, Gluckin, and six others stole over 11 million dollars from the school district's coffers and used it to fund their own lavish lifestyles. The film was written by a former Roslyn School District student, Mike Makowsky, who turned the most exciting story to come out of his hometown into a riveting script that HBO snatched up back at the Toronto Film Festival in 2019.

After the scandal was exposed — thanks to the help of an intrepid student journalist — Tassone, Gluckin, and others were arrested and charged. According to Newsday, Gluckin pled guilty to first degree grand larceny in a deal with prosecutors and in September, 2006 she was sentenced to three to nine years in prison. Ultimately, Gluckin spent nearly five years behind bars: she was released in May of 2011, and placed on parole until September of 2015.

Gluckin declined to comment to Newsday at the time upon her release, but the Long Island paper reported that she was living in Seaford, NY and working for a non-profit in Queens.

Her attorney did release a statement, saying that, "[Gluckin] has paid her debt to society. She is doing what she is supposed to be doing pursuant to her parole and she intends to acclimate herself back into society and be productive. She is very remorseful and very embarrassed and she can't believe it happened and wants to make amends."

HBO recently revealed that Gluckin died in 2017. The cause of death remains unknown.

Ed Note: This story has been updated and corrected.