NYC School Misspelling Causes Red Faces, Pointed Fingers

A giant, obvious misspelling on a New York City crosswalk has city, utility and school officials pointing fingers, and assuring that none will win a spelling bee.

Even worse, the misspelling is right outside a Manhattan high school, and involves the word "school."

The painted pavement on Stanton Street outside Marta Valle High School reads "SHCOOL X-NG," as seen here in footage captured by ABC News affiliate WABC.

The Department of Transportation claims the mistake was made by a utility provider conducting repairs on the street, according to The New York Post, which first reported the glaring error.

City officials say utility providers and contractors are responsible for returning city streets back to normal after repairs.

But at least one city worker told the paper the blame lies not with the utility company or the city, but with the school.

"Regardless of who painted it, someone from the school should have been outside supervising, or noticed it by now," the city worker, who asked to remain anonymous, told the Post. "This is sloppy work."

The Post also reports that the neighborhood's residents said construction crews worked on the street over the summer, meaning the error has gone either unnoticed or unrepaired by both the city and the school for months.

"What's ironic is that the principal has probably painted the lunchroom and rooms inside over about five times since 2010," Marta Valle's PTA president Linda Surles told the Post.  "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!"

Officials from Marta Valle High had no comment.

The Post's inquiries were enough though, it seems, to get the error fixed.

"We are contacting them to correct the error promptly," a DOT spokesman told the Post, referring to the utility provider the agency says is to blame. The mistake has since been corrected.