Iowa Substitute Teacher Fired for Soliciting Student Donations for Personal Trip
The educator was dismissed for offering extra credit in exchange for contributions to her GoFundMe account for a medical mission trip.
An Iowa substitute teacher, Stephanie Mullaley, was terminated from her position at Clinton Community School District on May 29 after allegedly offering her high school students extra credit for donating to her personal GoFundMe page. The funds were intended to support a medical mission trip to Ecuador for Mullaley and her husband, Nick.
Administrative Law Judge Duane Golden found that Mullaley violated the school district's ethics policy, stating that students "felt pressured to donate money to her personal GoFundMe page." Mullaley had set a fundraising goal of $1,800 on the crowdsourcing platform but only raised $140 from six donations ranging from $5 to $50.
According to the Iowa Capital Dispatch, Mullaley described the trip on a now-deleted Facebook post as a "blessing" and an "opportunity to serve a community in need of medical service." She explained that she and her husband had been invited to join the mission trip and needed financial support for transportation, food, and lodging. Mullaley wrote that she would be interpreting for the mission trip and her husband would be assisting the team.
Following her termination, Mullaley applied for unemployment benefits. However, Golden denied her claim, determining that her conduct demonstrated a "willful or wanton disregard" of her employer's interests and made her ineligible for benefits.
Mullaley's role was as a full-time, long-term substitute teacher. The school district's ethics policy prohibits soliciting donations for personal gain from students.