“We’re interviewing all parties who had access to accounts,” Clark County Sheriff Gene Kelly said. “We haven’t identified any person as a suspect … everyone is going to be questioned and interviewed.”
Superintendent Brad Martin was placed on paid administrative leave this week, pending an investigation, Assistant Superintendent Paula Crew said in a statement Thursday. She didn’t return calls seeking comment Friday.
Martin didn’t return calls and didn’t answer his door on Friday afternoon.
A sheriff’s report released Friday says Crew contacted the sheriff’s office on Thursday about the “suspected theft of monies that belong to the school district along with money belonging to several support groups with the school.” About $3,100 also appears to be missing from a safe located at Tecumseh High School, deputies said.
The report has a suspect’s name and other identifying information redacted. No charges have been filed in the case and once the investigation is complete, the sheriff said it will be turned over to a grand jury for review.
School officials told deputies they recently discovered the possible thefts, but Kelly said the initial investigation indicates money might have gone unaccounted for since July.
The sheriff’s office requested the assistance of BCI’s Special Investigation, Cyber Crimes and Crime Scene units, spokeswoman Jill Del Greco said.
Detectives were at the district office, 9760 W. National Road, Friday to meet with employees and review records.
BCI agents will conduct a forensic audit on all accounts used by the district, Kelly said. The work to sift through the multiple accounts the school runs could take weeks to complete, he added, and no exact amount of money that is missing from the district has been determined.
The district has a budget with total revenues and other financing sources of about $28.5 million annually, according to its most recent five-year forecast.
The Tecumseh Board of Education will hold a special executive session at 10 a.m. today to discuss personnel matters, according to an agenda.
The Springfield News-Sun reviewed Martin’s personnel file containing documents from the more than 20 years he has been employed in the district. It contained no records of discipline issues, only praises from fellow coworkers, especially when Martin served as principal at Tecumseh Middle School.
Martin, a Tecumseh graduate, has been employed in the district since his graduation from college in the early 1990s.
He started as a teacher at Park Layne Elementary, then was hired as a middle school principal in 2005 and has since worked his way up the administration. He replaced former Superintendent Jim Gay in January 2013.
Some residents in New Carlisle said the timing of this investigation is unfortunate and could be a stain in a district that has struggled to find financial support from its taxpayers.
“The Tecumseh district has gone through several years of a levy not passing and trying to get the money to operate,” Chris Chapman said. “It’s not going to help with levies and future levies because of the controversy.”
Patricia Byerman owns Comfort and Joy Eclectic Emporium, 106 S. Main St. in New Carlisle. She said it upsets her to hear of a financial scandal in the community.
“It’s very sad that people just don’t know who to trust,” she said.
About the Author