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Audit: School Administrators Allegedly Spent $700,000 On Strip Clubs, Booze, Online Gaming

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (CBS Local) -- An audit of an Alabama school district shows administrators allegedly misused more than $700,000 of public money on strip clubs, liquor stores, nonexistent vendors and scholarships for an administrator's children.

In total, six former and current employees of Montgomery Public Schools were named in connection with $703,297.66 that was claimed as misused or missing between October 2017 and September 2018, CBS affiliate WAKA reported.

Walter James, the former assistant principal of Jefferson Davis High School, is accused of mishandling $330,060.15. The audit found that many of the invoices he submitted for goods and services paid on behalf of the school were questionable and that one of the vendors was his spouse.

Marsha Baugh, a former teacher at Brewbaker Technology Magnet High School, allegedly used $177,325.07 to establish a scholarship and then awarded the funds to two of her children.

Additionally, $45,908.72 of the missing money is charged to Chauncy Shines, a former athletic director at Brewbaker Magnet. He is accused of using a debit card to rack up more than $5,000 in purchases, including "at a gentleman's club, a local bar, online gaming sites" and more, according to the audit.

Montgomery Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Ann Roy Moore said she and MPS Chief Financial Officer Arthur Watts uncovered these issues and reported it to the state.

"We were brought in to help make things right," Moore told WAKA. "And so we're trying to right the ship. And under our watch, when we find it, we will do something about it."

Moore said that the funds in question were from student fees and donations, not allocated tax dollars.

The district recently hosted a mandatory training to all district employees who handle money and is now offering the training to everyone, Moore said.

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