The Tennessee Comptroller’s Office said in a report that a former Brainerd High School cosmetology teacher and coach failed to deposit over $7,000 in cheerleading funds into the school account and spent those funds at unapproved vendors, among other findings.
The teacher, who is not named and worked at Brainerd High for roughly seven years, was suspended without pay Feb. 23, 2022, before resigning May 26, 2022, the comptroller’s investigative report said.
The investigation, which occurred after Hamilton County Schools officials reported the irregularities, found the amount of cheerleading fees approved by Brainerd High officials for collection was $3,640, or $240 per student; however, the former teacher collected $7,360, or $460 per student.
Brainerd High officials said the former teacher did not send the funds to the school accounts because she wanted to use unapproved vendors to purchase uniforms and other equipment for the cheer team, according to the report.
“The former teacher did not receive board approval to increase the fee amount for cheer students, make purchases from unapproved vendors or directly spend student funds despite being used for the cheerleading team,” the report states.
The Hamilton County Board of Education’s policy manual requires all fees to be approved by the board and requires every county official to deposit collected funds into the official bank account within three days.
“The former teacher’s failure to follow board policies and the provisions set forth in the manual, including noncompliance with the three-day deposit rule, decreases transparency in the accounting of collections and increases the risk that fraud, waste or abuse will occur without prompt detection,” the report states.
(READ MORE: New class at Chattanooga’s Brainerd High trains students to become 911 dispatchers)
Some of the purchased items were also shipped directly to the former teacher’s personal residence, which is against purchasing procedures, the report said.
According to another finding in the report, the former teacher purchased supplies for the cosmetology program using the school’s bank account, but there were no payment receipts or other documentation for the services provided. Brainerd High’s Future Ready Institute of Entrepreneurship includes a cosmetology program that has students, faculty and other clients pay for services.
Investigators were also unable to determine if all funds collected for services were sent to Brainerd High’s bookkeeper.
The investigation revealed that Brainerd High officials failed to provide adequate oversight or separate financial duties, which resulted in the comptroller office’s findings, the report said.
In a statement, Hamilton County Schools spokesperson Steve Doremus said the district was aware of the investigative report.
“Corrective actions have been taken, which include increased training and monitoring of accounting processes for various funds at the school,” he said by email.
Contact Shannon Coan at scoan@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6396.