Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Fundraiser for teacher sparks controversy

What started out as a show of appreciation turned into an investigation when Clark County School District officials took control of more than $500 Greenspun Junior High School students collected for a favorite teacher.

The students collected the money to buy a teacher a puppy, but school officials confiscated the money and are investigating the teacher who was to receive the gift.

The president of the PTA, D.J. Stutz, said that since the students collected the money on their own, they should be in control of the funds and shouldn't need a third party -- the school district -- dictating how the money is used.

"Shouldn't the money be used for the reason it was collected for?" asked Stutz. "If students donate money to a specific cause, they have the reasonable expectation that the money goes to what it was collected for."

Around 150 to 200 students, mostly eighth graders, at Greenspun Junior High School in Henderson donated money so they could purchase a pet dog for a teacher, identified by KLAS Channel 8 as Jennie Harms.

Harms could not be reached for comment.

Viola Washington, principal at Greenspun Junior High School, said that students efforts to raise money for a puppy were stopped because it was against school policy.

"The money must be accounted for," she said.

She could not say whether the teacher was involved in the fundraising effort but said the matter is being investigated.

She said that the school is now trying to return the money to the students and has been in the process of asking each student who reportedly contributed how much they donated. If there is a discrepancy between how much the students reported giving and the amount, then the school will make up the difference, she said.

The school district stepped in, however, in order to ensure that the money isn't used improperly.

"It (collection of money) should never have been allowed in a classroom by a teacher, especially by a teacher who is to receive the gift," said Carol Lark, the regional assistant superintendent. "We have to be fiscally responsible to the taxpayers."

Lark said she could not comment on the ongoing investigation at Greenspun Junior High School and was speaking generally about district guidelines.

She said that the district would typically not get involved in a situation like this because teachers, parents or guardians often oversee fundraising efforts.

But when students take a collection on campus and bring in more than $500, then a parent or teacher should be involved to ensure that the money isn't used improperly or that there aren't any perceptions of wrongdoing.

For example, what if a student can't contribute money for the gift, then receives a low grade? Some could perceive that to be tied to the lack of contributing for a gift, Lark said.

Overall district guidelines require teachers that collect money for school field trips or other efforts to take the money at the end of the day to the school banker, a school employee on campus, who will then count the funds with the teacher or another individual to verify the amount, she said.

"Once it (money collection) takes place on our campus, we are responsible for it," Lark said. "It's an unfortunate situation."

Mary Ella Holloway, president of the Clark County Education Association, said the association is not currently involved in the case but could be if the teacher involved faces disciplinary action.

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