Five Star cover-up: School district fails to inform parents of theft until media breaks story
June 5th, 2012
Johnny and Pam Trujillo stole money from fundraising activities at Northglenn Middle School.
Recently CBS4 Denver uncovered the theft of tens of thousands of dollars of fundraising money at an Adams 12 Five Star School District middle school. While the district was well aware of the theft and had dealt with it internally, they failed to inform parents until the story broke months later.
Johnny and Pam Trujillo were teachers at Northglenn Middle School. While the pair was well-liked by students, their colleagues were less than kind in their assessment of them describing them as bullies amongst staff.
As it turns out, their fellow teachers were wise to be wary. Mr. and Mrs. Trujillo were bilking parents and students for $25,000, money intended for school trips. Making matters worse, the two left behind a $14,000 bill owed to Hollywood Bingo where fundraisers were held.
Instead of the money going to fund student activities, the Trujillos used it to put a deposit on a trip to Rome and lined their own pockets with cash. Adams 12 discovered the fraud and terminated the Trujillos – as well they should have.
What else is troubling is that parents of students at Northglenn Middle School were never informed of the abuses when the district took action.
The Trujillos were fired for “ insubordination and immorality” on October 14, 2011. It was only when CBS4 aired the report seven months later that the activities came to light and the district told parents of the theft.
As a result, it appears Adams 12 Five Star School District was content to simply sweep the affair under the rug and never let taxpayers know of the fraud. This is a shame and a failure on the part of the school district. We expect more from those responsible for educating our children and their actions certainly do not set a good example.
Editor’s note: It is interesting that Pam Trujillo amazingly enough had no problem getting another job in education and in fact appears to have gotten herself a promotion. She is now Director of Curriculum and Instruction at Ricardo Flores Magón Academy in unincorporated Adams County.
On the net:
No criminal charges or prosecution? These were felony crimes!
[...] Those are but two examples of mismanagement at the district level, there are many more. The botched Auto-Trol deal, failure to seize an opportunity to partner with the City of Thornton to save costs, and the districts willful hiding of theft by two of its teachers are but a few that come to mind. [...]
[...] Those are but two examples of mismanagement at the district level, there are many more. The botched Auto-Trol deal, failure to seize an opportunity to partner with the City of Thornton to save costs, and the districts willful hiding of theft by two of its teachers are but a few that come to mind. [...]