A high school principal who resigned after admitting to stealing from his own school was later hired and let go by a different school district.
Dr. Spencer Lodree admitted to stealing $1,300 from basketball ticket sales at Fernandina Beach High School.
A Duval County Public Schools representative said Lodree "did not appropriately disclose relevant information regarding his separation from his previous employer." The statement went on to say that since his separation with Nassau County Schools was recent, it was not yet recorded in the Florida Department of Education systems that track violations of professional standards. Tuesday was Lodree's last day as assistant principal of Northwestern Middle School.
Meanwhile, Fernandina Beach Police Tuesday released surveillance video from Fernandina Beach High School the night of the basketball game in question. The video appeared to show Lodree going into a rear entrance of his office, followed by flashlight beams in the area where the money was kept.
In a press release announcing Lodree's resignation, Nassau County School District representatives said they had no prior reason to suspect Lodree would steal from the school. However, online court records and police reports show this isn't the first time Lodree has had financial trouble.
Duval County court records show Lodree was charged in 2005 with writing worthless checks, but the case was later dropped.
In Clay County in 2008, court records show Lodree was ordered to pay off more than $4,000 in credit card debt. In a separate incident in 2003, a police report showed Lodree was arrested for making a false report of a crime and resisting or obstructing an officer without violence. That stemmed from an incident where he allegedly called 911 to report a battery, but later said he made it up.
Nassau County School District officials have not responded to whether the previous incidents showed up on Lodree's background check, which is required of all district educators.
Nassau County Schools officials said the money was recovered from Lodree’s final paycheck and the district reported the incident to the Florida Department of Education (DOE).
The DOE would not confirm or deny whether there is an open investigation on Lodree. However, it said once a district reports an incident to the DOE, there is a process for investigating educator misconduct and, when founded, taking action. You can find more information on this process here.