Facing a criminal theft charge, the Chickamauga (Georgia) City Schools superintendent will continue to run the district for now.
Melody Day, who is accused of bilking a Belk department store out of about $300, told the school board about the pending criminal charge soon after the incident.
"There has been no adjudication of the matter at this point," board member Corky Jewell told the Times Free Press in a statement Thursday afternoon. "Unless, and until, there is an adjudication that is adverse to Mrs. Day's legal status, she enjoys the same presumption of innocence that you or I or any other individual enjoys."
According to an affidavit filed with the Chattanooga Police Department, Day allegedly swapped the price tags on some clothes inside the store on the afternoon of Dec. 2. A Belk employee said she watched Day walk into a fitting room with clothes. Some were on sale. Some were not on sale.
The employee said Day switched out the price tags on the clothes and checked out with some of them. The clothes were supposed to be full price, but Day allegedly paid for them as if they were the for-sale items.
Day was supposed to turn herself in at the Hamilton County Jail on Wednesday but had not done so as of Thursday afternoon. She did not return a call seeking comment Thursday. Her attorney, Lee Davis, said she denies the charge. He is waiting to hear what further evidence the police have during her sessions court hearing, scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Jan. 16.
Davis said Day paid for some items at Belk on Dec. 2 and continued to shop in another section of the department store. A security guard then stopped her and questioned her about the alleged scheme. Davis said she cooperated with the security guard. He believes there may have been some confusion and, potentially, price tags could have been swapped by accident.
"Most of the time, you don't charge somebody with theft when they're standing in the store, holding items," Davis said. "I want to know, why did they take her at that point? Why didn't they wait to see what eventually happened? At Christmas time, you've got people buying items, trying on items in all manners of ways."
Day has worked for Chickamauga City Schools since 1978, beginning as a teacher. The board of education hired her as superintendent in 2000. In 2012, she retired briefly to take out her pension, as the program was about to change and would have been worth less money. She returned to work soon after and has continued in her role as superintendent since then.
Besides Jewell, the three other school board members did not immediately return calls seeking comment Thursday. The board is now one member short, as the elected officials have not replaced Billy Ellis, who died Nov. 18.
Contact staff writer Tyler Jett at 423-757-6476 or tjett@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @LetsJett.