Parent's Public Data Request Leads To Shakopee Superintendent Resignation
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A Twin Cities superintendent is stepping down amid an investigation into personal purchases he made using district money.
The Shakopee school board is expected to accept Rod Thompson's resignation Monday night.
The announcement comes after a public data request revealed Thompson charged thousands of dollars-worth of personal expenses to a district credit card.
He said the purchases were "unintentional," and that he later reimbursed the district.
A search warrant affidavit shows Thompson made $3,500-worth of personal purchases between March of 2015 and March of 2017.
The expenses included two plane tickets to Nashville in September for he and his wife, a smart TV and dozens of purchases through Amazon and PayPal.
The purchases became public after a data request was placed by Gene Grugal, who has two kids in Shakopee schools.
"Frankly, I still think that there's still probably more to come out, and this is really just what's been disclosed thus far," Grugal said.
He became concerned about Thompson's financial activity after the district reported a $4.5-million budget shortfall earlier this year.
"I'm just kind of digging into that. It led to more questions, and as you began to pull back the layers it just seemed to get worse and worse," Grugal said.
Thompson is not facing any criminal charges. A Facebook group called Concerned Citizens of Shakopee has parents weighing in, many asking if he will receive severance pay as part of his resignation.
The district declined to answer any questions Thursday.
"It's pretty frustrating," Grugal said. "I call it a bittersweet day, honestly. I think we started this search for the truth and it led down a path that nobody really wanted, but once you're headed down that path you kind of have to see it to its end."
The affidavit shows Thompson wrote checks to the district in May with the memo "Reimb" written for the same amount of the flights to Nashville eight months earlier. Grugal says he filed the public data request in April.
The district declined to answer any questions Thursday. The expenses are still under investigation.
