Former Gateway High School principal and staff at center of Aurora embezzlement investigation
The former principal of Gateway High School in Aurora and an office assistant who has worked alongside him are under investigation for allegedly embezzling more than $100,000 from the school.
According to Aurora police, the department sent the case against Ronald Fay and Jill Watkins to the district attorney's office for review of charges.
"It was during COVID and we all just wondered how in the world is he paying for all these things," an anonymous source told CBS Colorado.
A police report more than 300 pages long details the case against Fay and Watkins, which includes receipts and bank statements.
"He was doing construction and purchasing this and purchasing that," the source said.
The excessive spending raised concern as police paperwork shows it was an anonymous tip that led to an internal audit by the district first and now a criminal investigation by APD.
"Most of us were like 'It's about time.' We knew something bad was going on," the source said.
Almost half of the money came from fundraising efforts like the school's #GoTogether campaign, designed to raise funds for student programming, as well as a GoFundMe to help buy laptops for students. The other $60,000 was money the district approved for a new support position.
"After he resigned the principals had their technology taken from them by APD," the source said.
That happened shortly after Fay suddenly resigned in July of 2021.
Investigators believe both Watkins and Fay used part of the money on personal plane tickets, hotels, dinners and shopping. Thousands more was spent on school renovations, a golf simulator, staff parties, designer purses and jackets for administrators at the school.
A spokesperson for Aurora Public Schools released the following statement about the allegations to CBS Colorado:
"As shared in the Aurora Police Department report, Aurora Public Schools was the reporting party and provided full investigation findings to detectives. After learning about the allegations of fiscal mismanagement at Gateway High School, we immediately launched an internal investigation. We also hired an outside accounting firm to conduct a forensic investigation. We proactively contacted the Aurora Police Department which subsequently launched its own investigation.
We have multiple policies and protocols in place to ensure that funding is used appropriately to serve Aurora Public Schools students. We do not tolerate misconduct and hold staff to high standards. We work to fully investigate complaints and concerns. In this case, the actions of the two former employees are appalling. We remain committed to upholding high standards for all employees."
According to the police report, Fay moved to Gateway High School from Rangeview High School, while bringing Watkins and several others along with him.
The report revealed, the two may have been doing the same thing while there as well.
CBS News Colorado reached out to both Fay and Watkins for comment and have not heard back.
The independent audit that APS asked for after learning of the allegations is also included in the police report. The $60,000 that was supposed to be used for a new position at the school wasn't accounted for. It was approved by chief academic advisor, Andre Wright, who is now one of the three finalists for the APS superintendent position.