Thousands in fundraising cash, candy unaccounted for at Atlanta school
Thousands of dollars in cash and candy used for fundraising is unaccounted for at an Atlanta high school, and a school district report says the school’s band director is to blame.
But Washington High School band director James Anderson disputes those allegations, saying he’s the victim of a “witch hunt” by disgruntled former band staff.
“I never accepted or collected any funds,” Anderson said.
Anderson, who said he’s been teaching for 23 years and cited a record of helping his students obtain college scholarships, has been reassigned to the district’s central office on paid administrative leave since this fall while the district investigated the allegations. Anderson said the district has informed him it plans to fire him.
Atlanta Public Schools investigators say Anderson collected proceeds from students’ candy sales in a lockbox in his office and destroyed records showing how much money was collected. About $2,760 worth of candy is unaccounted for and about $1,000 in candy or cash is outstanding, according to the district report.
The report claims thousands more in student fees and other money were mishandled. It does not say that money is missing. But it does say Anderson violated multiple policies in handling money raised for students in the band. It says he didn’t issue receipts, deposit money promptly or get approval from principal Tasharah Wilson for fundraising.
Anderson told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he never had a receipt book and that other staff or volunteers were responsible for collecting funds.
The report also faulted Washington principal Wilson for failing to monitor the band’s fundraising activities. No disciplinary action was taken against her, district spokeswoman Kimberly Willis Green said.
Green said Wilson was not available for comment Thursday.
But Green said in a written statement that Wilson met with band parents after the district learned of the allegations: “She plans to meet with parents again to discuss the latest outcome of this matter. The district is hopeful that the school and the band program will move quickly to recover from this incident.”
Washington parent Rhea Austin said removing Anderson from the school has been “a travesty.”
“For some of those students, he changed their lives,” she said. “They were on the right track because they had an outlet. They had someone they could talk to.”
